The Allspark's Avatars
by Dynnzel
Summary: 2007Movie Extinction nears for all Transformers. Bee looks to the stars for comfort from his nightmares, only to get more than he'd wished for. Ratchet is stumped on how to treat a hybrid of Cybertronian and organic origin. The Allspark cries for renewal.
1. Chapter 1

**"The Allspark's Avatars"**

**A Transformers fanfic**

**by Maieve Avvi**

Wow, I haven't made a fanfiction in an extremely long time. Well I hope this one is as much enjoyed as my others before I went on a few years hiatus. Inspiration for this fic came to me while I was contemplating the movie on a fifteen hour Greyhound bus ride back to my home. I don't know how many times I listened to the movie soundtrack, which is quite awesome by the way. Too bad the symphony music wasn't on there though, I liked them just as much as the other songs.

Oh and if I get little things wrong don't bug me about it. It's a fanfic people, it doesn't necissarily have to be on the dot accurate.

Transformers doesn't belong to me bla bla bla blaaa all the copyright stuff.

**Chapter 1**

Cycles 1 Earth Years

Cybertron, 90 CAL (Cycles After Launch)

In the far reaches of space the cry of a dying planet had long since faded to a whimper of despair. The once proud cities of sentient life rose as but mere tombs that echoed the past; lightless and filled with the ghosts of yesterday's follies. Scorch marks left by the Seperatists epic battles scarred the mechanical landscape, the rubble a reminder to any that passed that in the end power would intoxicate anyone it came to visit.

Cybertron did not have a sun to illuminate the mistakes made by the once united sentient beings that had inhabited the world that the Allspark had so generously sparked into existence. Nobody knew why the Lord High Protector Megatron, who had been firm but fair, suddenly wove together a massive army of separatists to obtain the Cube for himself. No not even his brother, the benificient Optimus Prime, knew the reason that had nestled itself comfortably in Megatron's thriving spark.

While battles of passion razed Cybertron to the pathetic dark and cold chunk of metallic substance it is now, there were those that watched the war in sadness. Mourning the loss of the tranquility that had been so full but mere years before.

Scorning at the battle lust that possessed the Decepticons, pitying the ignorance of the few Autobots whose sparks were snuffed out so quickly.

These passive observers considered themselves and those that did not battle, the true Cybertronians for they did not seek the power that was theirs already: the spark that burned inside. Making their circuits warm with life and fiber.

One by one as survivers left the barren planet in pursuit of hope long left stale in the wind, eventually only thirteen lights burned on Cybertron. They had no reason to leave, each individual was encased in a different colored tower connected to a vein of Energon that still flowed beneath the sensors of the average Cybertronian. They listened to the silence that they so dreaded ever since that fatefilled day when Optimus Prime had launched the Allspark into the far reaches of space. The screams of terror had filled their sparks when they sensed their life force ejected beyond their protection. Bitterness for the hunger of power ran coldly through their circuits as they waited in anxiety for the signal of the Cube to die away.

It was only a matter of time when the signal suddenly cut off approximately one hundred cycles since the planet had been vacated. The void was so solid that it smashed into the remaining thirteen's consciousness so hard their screams echoed across the dead planet.

Dust and debris suddenly flew off the towers as the pieces opened up. The bindings holding them in place since their creation thousands of years before shattered as they stood from their cribs. Beams of light from all across the spectrum shot into the darkness as the towers peeled open to reveal their precious cargo. Waves of energy flowed out as one by one the remnants shot off into space as streaks of light. They spiraled around each other in perfect synchronization as they joined in formation. A sudden tear in dimensional space opened for them as they ascended to the heavens, giving them quick passage to their destination that burned in the navigations area of their brains. Even with the location in mind it was going to take at least a few cycles to reach where the Cube's signal was lost for the universe stood still for no one.

OOO

Earth, 2009

Witwicky residence

_Bumblebee ran after his friends across the wasteland that was hauntingly familiar. He tried to call out to them but all he could mus__ter was a small whine. This wasn't right, his voice had been repaired when he'd touched the Allspark to make it easier for transportation. He touched his throat and was horrified to find that his voice capacitator was shattered just like that fateful day w__hen he'd played decoy for Optimus' attempts to get the Allspark out of Lord Megatron's grasp._

_In his moment's hesitation he noticed a wave of F22's flying straight toward his comrades who were oblivious to the hostile gesture. Bumblebee's cry of warning s__puttered as a few broken echoey signals. Each of the hundreds of missiles hit their target dealing fatal damage to Optimus, Ironhide and Ratchet._

_"Bumblebee!"_

_The Autobot turned to see Sam and Makaela standing hand in hand on a nearby hill._

_"Why didn't __you warn them?" Sam asked. Bumblebee tried to explain himself but again his words only came out in a jumbled mess of Cybertronian language and sound bits from the radio._

_A shadow came from behind the hill, Bumblebee's bright blue opticals retracted in hor__ror at the sight of Lord Megatron. The once revered leader uttered, "Not one word you shall utter, remember?"_

_Run Sam! Makaela! Bumblebee wanted to shout but they just stood their in their ignorance. Megatron snapped down his right fist into a deadly mace__ head on a chain ready to come down on the species that had caused his demise. Bumblebee leaped forward in an attempt to stop his enemy._

_Nooooo!_

All of a sudden the night's placidity was interrupted by the high pitched squeal of the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro's car alarm. A few lights illuminated the Wiwicky's windows as they awoke to the distress. Bumblebee could feel the annoyance from the parent's and heard the yells at their 19 year old son, telling him to get the car under control. Bumblebee realized what a disturbance he was being and quickly switched off the alarm system. Footsteps told him that Sam was coming to see what was wrong, they were slightly quicker than usual.

"Bumblebee?" the humans voice was quiet but audible as he climbed in, "What's wrong? Did some idiot try and hijack you?" he said half jokingly. Despite promises from the government that no action to apprehend the known Transformers were to be taken, Sam didn't quite trust them still despite all they'd done. Power changed hands quickly in politics and so did ideals.

"No." said the car. Bumblebee felt a bubble of tension pop in his chest, he still had his voice. Of course he still had his voice why would it just suddenly break again? That was just absurd.

"Well then what's with the alarm blaring me out of the house on a school night?" Sam was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "You could just call me or call Ratchet if you have a problem to fix just so long as you're back in time to take me to school." Out of the education system level of high school and straight into the advanced level of what was called college.

"I don't know what's wrong Sam. I...just a few seconds ago I was having the illusion that I was back at our old home. However it didn't make sense because F22's were bombing Optimus and the others and I couldn't warn them, my voice capacitator was no longer functioning again. Then Lord Megatron returned and was about to extinguish you and Makaela's life spans." the tires shifted in place, "I don't understand what that was."

There was a moment of silence and Bumblebee thought Sam had fallen asleep but the young man's brain activity showed that he was just thinking.

Sam asked, "Do you Autobots have dreams like humans do?"

"Dreams... there are so many definitions for that word." that made it even more difficult for Bumblebee to grasp the concept of the word for there was nothing in his native language to compare it to, "No... no I don't believe we do."

Another moment of silence as Sam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, "Well, you've been here on Earth the longest right? Except for Megatron but he doesn't count he was asleep. You could be catching on to what humans do at night sometimes which is dream."

"But what _is_ a dream Sam?"Bumblebee felt frustrated at his friend's vagueness.

Sam breathed out an exasperated sigh. It was so difficult for him to explain some aspects of his own race because a lot of things he just knew without the need for word description, "Ok, a dream can be a lot of things. They can be a reflection of something in your conscious life or in your subconscious. They may not always make sense to our logical minds though... does that help any?"

"Yes, thank you. You should get back to rest, you've got a few tests tomorrow do you not?"

Sam swore then bade the Transformer goodnight before rushing back into the house. His light remained on which gave Bumblebee the impression that the little human had forgotten completely about it. His thoughts turned again to what Sam called a 'dream'. The impressions it had left were clear and vivid, perhaps something like this happened to his race as they aged. Tomarrow he'd go and ask one of his elders about it, surely they would be able to give him an even better grasp of the concept of dreaming. After all, communications at times with humans was difficult because direct translations didn't always mean the same thing to the other. Bumblebee settled himself down as best he could for the rest of the night, although going into hibernation mode wasn't that appealing at this point since there was a chance of a repeat. So the youngster busied himself with searching the Internet for bits of information that he deemed useful, especially music. Because music had been non-existent to any Autobot before they'd come to Earth. It was a very interesting thing to Bumblebee as he tried to understand why humans loved it so much.

As the Autobot sat idly matching together bits of lyrics that appealed to him, he saw a piece of falling debris, something humans would've called a shooting star. It sparked the hope in him that more of his kind would reach Earth. Despite the company of new friends he wished for his own kind, preferably closer to his age.

OOO

Thank you in advance for your reviews. They are much appreciated, helps inspire me.

I'll update with as little time between chapters as possible, but I'm coming onto my senior year in high school so I can't make exact promises for the time part.

See you all next chapter!


	2. Chapter 2

To **Ted**: Eh! You're right, I made it harder on myself now that I think about it in my story's entirey… Thanks for the tip

To **Calger** and **Tristone**: Thank you very much for adding me to your favs.

A/N: CAM Certificate of Advanced Master, a course usually taken by seniors and some juniors.

**Flamers will be blocked and/or reported. So go complain somewhere else if that's all you want to do.**

**Chapter 2**

After dropping off his ward at school, Bumblebee left campus to drive to the lake where he'd first saw Makaela. The lake was void of most recreational activities since it was November and the chill wasn't appreciated by most humans. Still, as a precaution the young Autobot kept his hologram, a teenage Caucasian male that wore black cargo pants, black fingerless gloves and t-shit and yellow vest following the theme of his camouflage. Sam had often said that this hologram especially with its stylishly messy blonde hair and bright blue opticals made him look bad in front of Makaela. Bumblebee didn't mind Sam's whining that much, he and Makaela would often team up on their friend in teasing. The Transformer didn't even quite yet understand Sam's jealousy because there was no way that he and a human could be partners. Makaela had said not to worry about it; it was all in good humor.

_Humor I don't always understand... must be because humans have chemical hormones and I don't._ Bumblebee thought as he tipped off his radio low in the back round. He opened up a channel calling for Ratchet. Hopefully the old war medic could explain the phenomena that had happened to him last night.

_"Ratchet here, what seems to be the problem Bumblebee?"_

"A strange thing happened to me last night Ratchet, "

"Yes?"

Bumblebee twitched his wheels as he tried to put in words what exactly had happened. Not that he didn't trust Sam's advice but they were species apart so what could be one thing for him could be something entirely different for them. Could it be something lethal? Bumblebee's hologram fluctuated in its stability at the thought of some sort of critical error going on in his systems.

"Ratchet?"

_"Yes Bumblebee I'm still here, sorry I was making sure this new driver didn't crash me. You say this happened while you were in hibernation mode correct?"_

"Yes."

_"You should find a way to relieve your stress, my friend. Something like that only occurs when you are afraid of something. In this case, it sounds like you're afraid of being alone and without your voice again. Am I right?"_

"Well... I'd thought I was over it. There really is no more threat to us other than the possible remnants of the Decepticons gathering and that doesn't bother me thatmuch." Bumblebee said more to himself than to Ratchet.

_"You mentioned F22's, which means there's also the possibility of humans having a change of heart someday."_

"Well I hope it doesn't come to that."

_"We can only hope. You need some reassurance Bumblebee that's all, seek that out if you have another one of these dreams. It's just a case of apprehensiveness is all, you can manage it."_

"How would I get reassurance to ease these fears then Ratchet?"

_"You're a scout aren't you? Do what you do best, in fact the best we've ever had. I'll see you later Bee, Ratchet out."_

Correct information, the vital key in advancing in everything from epic battles to simple games. The Camaro started up its engine and headed back out onto the road. Having knowledge of the current situations both on and off Earth was where Bumblebee would start and hopefully the news he gathered would bring an end to his anxiety that seemed to have balled up inside of his spark.

Since his race was on relatively good terms with the American government, it was vital that Bumblebee use excruciating caution while gathering information that could be very sensitive to the politicians. The higher up humans were greatly suspicious of every and anything that might be a threat to them. Given the chance paranoia would land Bumblebee and possibly all of his friends right back into Hoover Dam where they'd be frozen and studied like Megatron had been. The thought wasn't that pleasant; the human's technology was crude but effective and their numbers immense.

While heading down one of the highways Bumblebee's thoughts were rudely scattered by the connection of a digital link probing him for attention. The combination of numbers told him it was Makaela calling him from her cell phone. Irritated at first then relieved for a small distraction, Bumblebee completed the link.

"Hey, Bumblebee." Makaela's upbeat tone brought light into the Autobot's currently dark thoughts, "Are you doing anything particularly important right now?"

"No, just heading into town while Sam's at school. Is there something the matter?" he asked.

"Oh no no, nothing's wrong. If nothing's special going on come on down to my house, Ironhide's here. I'm having a carwash, care to join us?" in the backround Bumblebee heard his older friend mutter something about having the attention all to himself, a remark that Makaela laughed at. Jumping at the oppurtunity Bumblebee told Makaela to save some suds for him and that if Ironhide insisted on taking his share to tell him he'd be dumped in the Arctic if he did. Bumblebee revved his engine and sped his way to the female's house. By the time he arrived Makaela was rinsing Ironhide who was blaring music from a local radio station of the female's choice.

Makaela greeted Bumblebee with a spray of water, "What'd you do Bee? Go drag racing in the country? What have you and Sam been doing lately?"

"Racing in the country, Sam made a few bets for some quick cash and I thought it'd be fun to see how well you humans coordinate with your machines at high velocities in non-lethal activities." Bumblebee responded curtly. Edges of his voice were tinged with sound bits from the radio since he was so accustomed to communicated through other ways besides his actual voice, Bee was trying to break this hard habit.

"When's my turn?" Bumblebee asked.

"Hold on a tick Bumblebee, first come first served. Today Makaela has the special service of, 'waxing' for us. Too bad Optimus and Ratchet ain't here, they're missing out." the big black truck jumped forward bumping the Camaro firmly enough to move but not even scratch it. Makaela watched with interest sparking in her eyes. Over the past few years it had become a great pleasure to watch the giant aliens interact with each other. Sure sometimes it didn't make sense to her, but none the less it was interesting to see how gentle huge battle machines could be. She wondered if the Autobots watched her race as closely as she did theirs. The smaller vehicle pushed back against the other's bumper, sending bits of gravel flying but was overpowered easily by his larger counterpart.

"Ok you guys I don't have all day to do this so stop fooling around." Makaela doused the two cars with more water until they backed away from each other. Really the Autobots didn't need maintenance such as vacuuming, washing, oiling etc. However it had become a tradition they'd come to enjoy along with the companionship of Sam and Makaela and on occasion Maggie, who came down to visit from her job at the Pentagon.

While Ironhide dried off in the weak November sun, Makaela started on scrubbing away the dirt that had caked on Bee's sides. Usually she liked to talk a lot to the Autobots but this time seemed a bit different to Bumblebee. Her chemical levels were slightly off balance telling him that despite the occasional joke that there was something bothering the female.

"Makaela, is there something troubling you?" Bumblebee asked.

She looked up too suddenly, "Huh? Oh,uh no nothing much."

"Nothing much?" Ironhide interjected quickly, showing Bee that he'd noticed the girl's off balance as well.

Makaela sighed as she kept scrubbing albeit a bit harder than before, "Just a dumb question that's been bothering me for a long time." her body temp rose a degree indicating embarrassment.

"What's that? It's ok to ask, there isn't any question that's dumb." Bumblebee encouraged.

_"Are you sure about that Bee?"_ Ironhide snickered in their native language.

_"Shut up sir."_

"Ah no it's ok, I can live." Makaela smiled.

"I insist, please, go ahead and ask."

She slowed her circular movements, "Um, well, ok. Let's see... how to word this without making it sound stupid... eh ok. If the Allspark was the source of all your life, what does that make it in human terms? Like, your mother or something?" the moment of silence that followed was enough to make the young lady think she'd made a fool of herself by asking such a thing and her temperature spiked.

Bumblebee cleared his vocal processors of any soundbits, "The Allspark in relation to human breeding you mean?" his mind raced, "I'd say more like the Allspark is our singular creator. It's a source of power is what it is and since we aren't organic beings we don't require genetics in the way you humans do." it was difficult to explain without going into laws of physics that would only confuse even a Sector Seven scientist.

"The concept Bumblebee is trying to explain is that the Allspark is more like your God that many of you seem to believe have created you. Except without a gender... in fact if that is true it's strange that you humans came to being from what you consider a male." Ironhide said.

"Ugh! Don't even go there! That's a _weird_ thought!" Makaela moaned, "So even though we call you guys... guys. It's just a portrayal of personality you chose before coming down here right?" she seemed keen to drive the subject to a more comfortable standpoint.

"Of course, there's no need for testosterone or estrogen in our race." said Bumblebee.

"Well..." Ironhide suddenly drifted off.

"What?" Makaela said too quickly.

"It's nothing, just a legend that I was told when I was a Sparkling."

"A what?" Makaela asked.

"What legend?" after a quick scan of the area to make sure no other humans were around the Autobot transformed, Ironhide following his example. The freshly clean bot shimmered in the light.

"A Sparkling, when one of our race has freshly come into being and is learning who they are." Ironhide answered the first question while examining his rather handsomely shining chrome, "And as for the legend, it's an old old tale. Optimus had been a young punk at the time the story originated."

Makaela hesitated at first then asked, "What does this legend have to do with breeding?"

"Absolutely nothing, only the concept of a male and female reminded me of what I'm thinkin'."

"Reminded you of what?!" Bee pushed.

"Well the way Optimus told me was that there was a special kind of Cybertronian at one point. These few in number were called 'Spark Generators' by the majority. Basically they were compact bots that, given time would generate enough energy exactly the same as the Allspark and would be able to create a spark." the big bot shrugged casually, "That's just what all this talk reminded me of. I can't remember the rest of it since I only heard it once from Optimus during a break in the war. Regardless of whether it's true or not can't be investigated now with most of our race scattered throughout the star clusters."

"How come I've never heard this legend?" Bumblebee asked feeling a bit left out in social circle of his companions.

"We never had the time to tell stories anymore by the time you came into existence. Besides, it's just a legend. Most likely our need for them was no longer and that special branch of our race died off, if they even ever existed in the first place." Ironhide suddenly looked away as if listening to something. When he turned back to the two still in deep contemplation of this story he said he had to leave to help Optimus with something and thanked Makaela for the light maintenance before transforming and heading out.

A few minutes passed before Bee realized that he should get back into his local camoflauge before someone arrived, "What a strange story. I didn't think Ironhide of all my friends would tell something like that. Jazz was the one who usually did the telling." he said aloud more to himself than to Makaela who had started scrubbing him squeeky clean again.

"Yeah, strange is right. A rather intriguing concept I must say. Hey I don't know if this mud'll come off…"

Bee's attention instantly shifted to what she was doing, "What?!"

She kicked his tire, "I'm kidding! Man you're so in love with yourself aren't you?"

"I don't understand…"

"Yeah, sure you don't." Makaela laughed.

000

Simultaneously a few states over from where Sam and Makaela lived, another human by the name of Diana was working on her laptop doing personal research instead of the CAM homework that lay at her feet in a mixed up pile. Her normally brown skin had paled considerably from the days spent inside from the cold winds and senior homework that was piled onto them before any breaks longer than the required one. Having long black hair contrasted her fair skin sometimes, like staring at her computer screen the light made her look chalk white in the dim room. She squinted her dark brown eyes trying to read the fine print of the screen before giving up. She got up, switching on her light then rummaging around her school bag for her glasses case.

"You know, sitting around in the dark won't help to correct your sight." the slick male voice would've totally confused a person walking into the room and seeing only Diana. In truth, the voice came from her compact boom box that seemed to have been tossed carelessly onto her bed. Its small but distinctive Autobot mark on its side told the rest of the story if you knew what you were looking for.

"Oh put a sock in it Stalker. Wearing them all the time won't help either, sometimes they can make it worse." finding the pink glasses case but no glasses, Diana tossed it aside then started checking her desk drawer for them. Suddenly she heard the wheels and joints reel as the boom box changed shape into a willowy but sleek four legged mechanical being whose appearance reminded her vaguely of both a fox and a cat. His opticals were a bright golden yellow, wide with curiosity and mischief. Stalker reared up on his hind legs then swiped her head with one paw like extension. This action caused her glasses to slide off and onto the desk.

"Gee thanks." Diana muttered, a little embarrassed. The black and green Autobot snickered before curling around and settling back where he'd been laying as a boom box only a few seconds ago.

Diana had stumbled upon the Autobot about a half a year ago while she was on a hike with her friends. She'd noticed Stalker's commentary landing first and had decided to investigate alone. When she found the landing site there had been a huge bent up looking compact object in the center of the pit. From this Stalker had emerged from his dead host with much damage on himself despite being cushioned by his partner. Diana had left when the Autobot had popped out of his compartment. Nervous and scared, she was halfway back home when she realized that she was being followed by the injured alien. Confronting him seemed only to amuse the Cybertronian who still hadn't bothered to start translating Earth's laughable alphabet. Since that day Diana appropriately named him Stalker, which he eventually told her that wasn't far from his real name so it stuck.

Their relationship in the beginning wasn't exactly smooth, Diana had tried many methods to make the Autobot go away but eventually accepted the fact that Stalker was her new pal. Fear melted away to caution, from caution to trust.

Stalker said that he was low on his power source known as Energon, even so he told Diana he would protect her from his less friendly counters known as Decepticons. Diana didn't think that was fair especially since Stalker was so badly damaged from his travels; so she came up with a plan that she would try and locate other Autobots and maybe possible Energon sources on Earth or even the other existing planets while Stalker tried to reserve his remaining Energon as long as possible.

It was difficult work with mind numbing mathematics and chemistry that her alien friend thought was child's play. It also caused a surprise to her parents and friends when they'd catch her in the middle of researching all that she could find on the planets. Something she hadn't cared for till the universe had brought her her new friend.

Putting on her glasses the screen before her instantly was clear. She sighed and continued her research, "How can you be so sure that that ultimate power source of yours ever landed here? Are you, connected in some way?" she asked.

Stalker lifted his head off the cushions, "I am certain, although the message I received was broken up. The Allspark has landed here... where I'm not so certain. However, surely with your wide network you can at least find a clue to the whereabouts of other Autobots. Even Decepticons, for where they are we are."

"I know I know but how reliable this stuff is I can't say, there's a lot of crazy and elaborate lies on the internet and fourth hand rumors." Diana sighed as the screen came into focus, "I'm not saying I'm giving up but... it's tiring." instantly Diana regretted what she'd said. Her problems were less than nothing compared to what the small but crafty Autobot had been through for the past umpteenth years.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." she apologized quickly, "I guess I'm just stressed out."

"You are, you shouldn't strain yourself so much for my sake. We've barely met and you're making such an effort and I appreciate it but you should rest appropriately. Your energy reserves are not as efficient as mine."

"Tell me something I don't know Mr. I'm-Superior!" Diana grabbed her pillow and whacked the bot who retaliated by running up her arm and clinging to her head. He was bigger than the average house cat and ten times as strong. While laughing and struggling to pry the mischievous Autobot from her face, their game of leech was interrupted by an obnoxious buzz from her cell phone. Quickly she picked it up only to receive a text from one of her friends who'd recently moved to another state.

nathan says:

_I hear u r into wierd things now, wanna see something cool?_

Her fingers flew over the phone keys.

diana says:

_whatch you got?_

A few minutes later a video attachment came.

aaron says:

_b careful, my new friend says that gov peeps have been visiting and erasing evidence, neat huh? wunder who made it_

Both human and Autobot leaned in closely, eager to see the video and desperately hoping it wasn't just a hoax. The video was grainy, taken with a low grade phone camera. Apparently who ever had been filming was running so nothing could be distinguishable except light from dark. Turning up the volume Diana realized it wasn't just static she was hearing, it was gunshots, screams and explosions. On her neck Stalker's sharp claws pinched her skin at a new sound which she didn't recognize. It sounded like a bunch of synchronized screeching and fine tunes. The cameraman finally steadied out, his cursing loud and clear. Right before the video cut off the camera caught what looked like a helicopter rearing up and changing shape. Humming blades spun past and the camera was knocked out of the poor man's hands.

Silence reigned for exactly a minute before both human and Autobot started talking at once. Instantly they stopped, looked at each other then replayed the movie this time with Stalker connected to the phone to better read their findings.

"It's genuine alright, that there was a Decepticon wreaking havoc right in the middle of what looked like a city. Why this wasn't on your frontline news is a bit surprising. You'd think alien activity would be a great story." Stalker's smooth voice was lined with excitement.

"Aaron did mention government people, they probably want to keep it as low key as possible... how they manage to keep death matches like that quiet kinda scares me actually." Diana realized her shoulders were growing numb and shook Stalker off, "Can you trace where this movie came from? We can go and find more of you kind!"

"You mean I will, you have to stay here. You have school and a family that will be worried about you." in his core he'd already located the computer that had first received the video.

"No!" Diana blurted, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. There's plenty of humans on this planet and not enough Autobots. You already said you're dangerously low on Energon. I told you months ago I'm going to help you, even if it's going to put me behind on my education... which honestly I don't care about anymore. Ever since I met you my priorities have changed! This is my adventure." her eyes were bright and filled with wonder at meeting more of these aliens good or bad. Stalker shifted uncomfortably, recalling something his long lost leader had once said. Optimus had always said protect the weak, in this case he wasn't sure who was weaker at the moment. Either way, he had to get his hosts' message out. The time spent trying to recoup these past few months may have only cost him more toil in the long run.

"Ok, how are we going to do this... the information is at least a year and a half old from what I'm getting..." Stalker began his calculations and hacks through the human's pathetic firewalls.

"Don't worry, Thanksgiving vacation starts soon, we can take this opportunity to go look." Diana felt renewed with energy. She felt exhilarated and happy at being able to help this creature. He'd landed on Earth with barely enough Energon to support his transformations and was fading quickly. Her life didn't matter right now, she was going to give this alien a second chance. The thought of government thugs trying to stop her never crossed her mind as she prepared to leave as soon as vacation started. The trail was old but not without a direction and she wasn't going to let this chance slip by.

OOO

Extra longer than the first chapter because I felt the need to make up. Again, no guarantees on timelines because I'm coming into my senior year and I also have outside activities and a job to juggle. However I'll do the best I can to make sure this fic stays alive and well.

Say, I'm up for the challenge of drawing a mecha despite I've no experience with it. I think it'll make a fun project, besides, it'll give you readers a visual reference for any custom Transformers I make in this fic no guarantees on a timeline but I can keep you posted on my progress. I'll most likely post any art I do for this fic on my DA account for those that don't know). I'll let you all know once I've followed through.

Thank you so much in advance for any **constructive** critism you have and/or comments. It really helps, see you all in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Transformers dosn't belong to me blablablablablaaaaa the usual copyright stuffs.**

**Stalker is my OC character. If there is such an autobot out there I'm unaware of it.**

**Chapter 3**

It was a lot harder than Diana had thought to maneuver the roads to the city called Mission. She'd had to do serious research of the routes because she'd never been out of her state except on road trips where her parents drove. Perspiring because she was nervous didn't help her comfort any either but she did her best to ignore her own pungent odor. Stalker sat staring out the passenger window of her beat up old van that Diana had inherited from her sister. Beat up though it was, it was in good working order so Diana hadn't uttered a complaint.

"You're phone's been receiving calls for the past eight hours." Stalker said. His human friend had turned the mobile comm off a long time ago but he'd occasionally tap into it just to distract himself from the pain of broken joints, burned cables and shattered frame parts, "Judging by how many times your family's numbers keep appearing it's obvious that they are worried about you."

"And I'm worried about you. You worry about finding your buds and I'll take care of my family." Oh yeah sure like that was going to be easy. Her mom was clingy and stubborn and her father was very authoritive. No doubt the second she rang them she'd have her ear blown off by their screaming. Granted she was just about to turn 18 in a few months and they'd said she was allowed to do as she pleased but they wouldn't like the idea of her traveling alone. _Well I'm not alone..._ glancing at the damaged Transformer a moment; she noticed how tall he sat as if in no pain at all. He was such a proud 'Bot, sometimes that pride hurt him further despite Diana's complaints.

"Stalker..." Diana said slowly, "You must've gone through a lot."

He turned his golden eyes on her, "What do you mean? Going through the torture of playing high base music you mean?"

"No! No I mean before you ended up here on this planet. I mean look at you! You're so torn up yet you insist on doing these things I wouldn't even give a rat's ass about if I was as injured as you." she smacked herself for cursing. She didn't like to curse but it sometimes just came out.

Stalker didn't say anything right away. He just examined her with whirling bright optics. This girl was doing a brave thing, branching off from her kin showing that she had independence. But she'd never seen war the way he and his host had and he wanted to keep it that way.

Maybe, just maybe the war _was_ over and the transmission he'd received was but a fragmented call of information delayed by the galaxy's many interferences. Either way he _had_ to confirm if Optimus Prime was still alive and relay him the news his partner had died for. Cybertronians couldn't comprehend sadness in the way a human did. Stalker's sensitive ear twitched as the void in his spark ached for his comrade left to be absorbed in the Earth's crust.

"Stalker?"

"Just promise me that you won't fight." Stalker said before he could restrain himself.

Diana arched one brow. Her glare's intensity was cut up by the fact that she had to keep looking at the road.

"I don't know what planet you're from but I think you should look at who's injured here. _You_ should be promising _me_ to not fight. I'm serious I will ductape your shiny little butt to a tree somewhere if you try to fight." her threat came as peculiar to the Transformer since he could easily break out of the adhesive material. He chuckled deep in his vocal processors.

"You're very brave but also cocky. You have no idea what you're up against." Stalker slunk down and lay on the seat like a cat might, a slight grin teasing his stiff lips as he recalled when his partner acted this way. Perhaps that's why he liked Diana so much was because certain parts of her personality helped him cope with his loss.

"Seriously though," he said before she could retort, "I thank you."

Diana looked confused, "For what?"

"Everything." was all he said before falling into a hibernation state. Diana sighed, her brow furrowing in concern. When she'd first spent time with the symbiote he hadn't slept that much. Now he was sleeping more often than not.

A hard painful knot bunched up in her throat so suddenly she almost choked. The thought of dying alone with not even a hint that the rest of your race was alive was a frightening thought.

So terrifying in fact that Diana snatched up her iPod and blared some upbeat music, the clash of mood and sound gave her a uniquely horrible feeling inside but eventually she managed to get her mind off of incomprehensible things. A sign ahead told her that Mission City was only another hour's drive..

OOO

"Hey! Sleepy head!" Diana's voice was loud as if she were right next to Stalker's ear. The 'Bot jumped up so suddenly that pain shot through his frame forcing him back down to try again more slowly. His systems were quickly deteriorating from the extreme heat he'd been exposed to during the crash landing. Stalker glanced up at his human friend who was hanging off the window on his side.

"We've been here over an hour but you didn't wake up when I first called you." Diana looked annoyed, why he couldn't fathom. Cautiously Stalker glanced out the window to see that they were parked in front of a motel set between a residential area and the main road to downtown.

"I didn't respond?" _Oh Primus this isn't good._ If his sensors were glitching this bad it would be very difficult to detect any of his comrade's Energon signatures.

"Nope, so I left you alone. I asked around but people seemed to be rather oblivious. I think those government peeps have scoured this place with threats very thoroughly." It was getting late; the sun was already about to vanish completely from sight. Despite the neighborhood looking friendly the feeling carried in the wind was wrought with tense silence and Diana had learned from past experience that that wasn't a good sign.

"I understand your political leader's move. But why they would threaten their own people I find that very distasteful."

"Ah it's how it always is and most people ain't brave enough to put their comfort in jeopardy." Diana sniffed, "Kinda makes me sick how these vicious circles are but sometimes that's just the way it is." she began pulling out her backpack heavy with clothes and toiletries.

"I kinda see our government like a... a subtle Megatron."

Stalker gave an alien whine which seemed like a cough, "You're comparing your government to Megatron?!"

The human stepped back and thought a moment before nodding, "Yeah, except their evilness is not as obvious as your High Lord of Torture and Terror."

"You don't have a lot of trust in your own people do you?" Stalker transformed into his boom box alt so Diana could carry him into the reception area.

"Oh I trust them alright so long as they stay in their place, I just don't trust them when it deals with alien matters. Like you, "she tucked him under one arm, "they'd probably gut you alive to study you without a second glance. I would sooner kill 'em all off before letting them get to you."

Stalker felt a flutter of compassion ripple across his spark. She hardly knew him yet drove forward to help him in any way she could. He considered the many stories he'd told her since after the time she'd kicked him like a common rodent out of her way before they'd managed to talk it out. It had all been in a nutshell really, Megatron turning, the war and the Allspark. He could only hope that nothing bad happened to her on his account.

"You listening ding dong?"

"Hm? Oh! I apologize Diana I was thinking..." he was set on the bedside table. Had he been so absorbed as to not notice they'd acquired sleeping residence?

The girl shrugged, "We should check out that address you came up with." she bounced onto the bed with a sigh, "Tomorrow though, I'm beat."

"I understand." the boom box beeped. It switched on to a channel considered to have soothing music by the critiques. Despite that it pained his neural circuits he opened up wirelessly to the local area Internet searching all the computers, his probing rippling out from the hotel to beyond human sight. It wasn't hard to absorb all the information on all the 'Net but in his condition he didn't want to push his luck.

While the anxious Autobot hacked all the city computers, buzzing electronic sounds now and then unconsciously. Diana lay there fully clothed watching the boom box multitask. Her mind whirled at the many possibilities on how she could help the 'Bot. The fear she'd felt earlier for Stalker threatened to overload her self control, being as tired as she was it wasn't hard for her eyes to start burning. Quickly she powered up her phone for a distraction.

Several texts and a lot of voice mail alerts popped up immediately. Annoyed at her family's persistence she deleted all their messages and answered the few texts that were her friends. Some of them asked where she was, no doubt asking for her parents. She simply told them that she was safe and not to worry, eventually she would return when her business was finished.

_Yeah right Diana... you want to stay with this Autobot forever. What if once he's found his buddies he leaves you? You are, after all, an _inferior_ biological._ Frowning at her pessimistic thoughts, Diana smacked herself on the head a few times.

"Why do you inflict physical abuse on yourself so much?" Stalker asked.

"It's an old habit my parents were never really able to break me from. It's not as bad as it used to be…"

"You shouldn't do that, you could harm yourself."

Diana laughed, "Since when are you so concerned about my weird habits? It's not like I'm cutting myself up."

"Just… why do you hit yourself at such random times?"

"It's not random, negative things come in my head and that's how I get rid of them."

"You can't just focus like you do with all your other activities?"

"As Mom would say: old habits die hard."

"Noted." Stalker went silent in his search. So many pieces of his scanning systems were out of place it made searching far harder than it should've been.

Suddenly a phone buzzed at its owner.

nathan says:

where r u?

Diana frowned, her parents never had contact with him... why was he asking now?

diana says:

why?

A minute later

nathan says:

u should get out where evr u r.

diana says:

whatre you talkin about?

On the other side of the line a young man growled in frustration, sweat beading his brow.

nathan says:

gov peeps cam, think they r trackin were these vids go thru the phones, they want silence, u r not safe!

She glanced worriedly at the window and locked door, a shot of adrenaline making her fully awake and alert.

diana says:

you seem ok, you are still talkin 2 me

nathan says:

they havn cot meyet gtg

Diana sent two more texts and was about to call her friend before his news started to sink in. Wasn't there a way that the phones could be tracked if you had access to the records?

"Oh shit." she immediately snapping her phone in half, good thing she preferred to memorize the numbers.

_Plenty of other phones out there._ She thought as she tossed it into the trash. No good, she'd used the phone here so if someone was watching for her number to pop up on the satellite records they had her position. That meant they would be here knocking down the door any second!

Taking in a deep breath Diana turned her fear into energy she could use with control. She snatched up her bag tossing around a few things till she found her blue fanny pack. Always be prepared, her mother had always said. If the government was tracking her electronically her debit card was out of use. Good thing she'd pulled $500 from her savings. She stuck 200 in each shoe and left the rest in her smaller pack.

"Diana?"

"Stalker we've got to move! Stop sitting there lookin' pretty." she gathered all her stuff and Stalker before peaking out the door. All was still outside except for the main highway traffic. Cautiously the adolescent made her way down the stairs but stopped immediately when she saw two men hovering around her car. Quickly she dashed out of sight behind a vending machine and looked again. They seemed to be checking the license plate number, dressed all in black just like in the movies.

_Damn these guys are fast... God bless Nathan._

"Diana... those men-."

"Shh!" Diana hissed as she retreated back down the side of the building opposite the agents. Each time her tennis shoes slapped the pavement or her backpack rubbed her shoulder the sound seemed to be projecting their position despite efforts to remain quiet.

When they were a good distance away Diana felt safe in muttering, "I'll handle this, just provide support ok? Like, track them by their own mobile devices so we know where they are." the now perspiring young lady sighed clutching the Transformer close to her chest. The night air was moist and cold, not good for staying out without proper cover since it would most likely frost.

"Damn it!" Diana tried to stop her sweating by flapping her sweater then whacked her forehead for cursing.

"I was trying to warn you..." said Stalker, "but I guess my performance is... less than supportive."

"It was pure luck man! Nathan texted me about it... ." she tapped him, "Just keep me informed soldier, hack their phones and tell me where their positions." she couldn't help but smile at how much she'd just sounded like a drill sergeant, "Don't worry about it Stalker, I could've handled those guys. They're probably all fancy talk." She added cheerfully.

Stalker was completely bewildered at Diana's sudden happiness. One second she was a nervous wreck and the next laughing in the face of danger, "You adapt quickly... that's good."

"Hey, ya have to even in this day and age."

"Indeed." his scanners fanned out, "They're searching the perimeter now, they just notified the local authorities of a potentially dangerous young lady that they need in their custody." He felt Diana quicken her pace, "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but there..." the darkness made even walking at normal speed difficult, several times she nearly hurt her ankle on an uneven surface. She'd have to keep away from any of the public places as best she could. Thinking about public places made the image of a steaming pizza pop into Diana's brain. She only now realized how hungry she was.

000

"All units we have a watch call for a potentially dangerous suspect..." the informer continued on with more details. The bored cop snapped awake at the voice. He muttered irritably about needing sleeping pills for his kids. He noted how young the suspect was when he saw the file sent to him.

"Kids these days... how sad." While the cop muttered on about more of the world's troubles, the cruiser he was sitting in was hummed with activity underneath the well maintained armor.

Barricade scanned the locale where the call had been initiated and found trace amounts of digital residue left by a careless Autobot. Sure, undetected by the meat bags such as the one he reluctantly carried now but not overseen by him. Inside the hood a navi map opened albeit more detailed and alien with more readings than a Sector Seven scientist would've cared to study.

There, skittering around in the back streets of the residential area 4 was the fleshling and a fading but still operational Autobot.

His near death experience with Optimus was still fresh in his mind, the Decepticon was flushing out every Autobot he could find to quell his anger at the leader. He still wasn't completely regenerated so he couldn't face the formidable foe yet. Till he was he would take his anger out on every other Autobot he could.

_I'll crush you both like the insects you are!_ Thought Barricade as he opened his door and dumped the surprised meat bag rudely onto the pavement and burned rubber.

000

So far the two escapees had avoided their human pursuers but that was the least of their problems. Diana reacted at the same time Stalker yelled at her to run.

Blasting through a fence in front of them roared a sleek cop cruiser at top speed. With reaction born from martial arts training Diana managed to jump in time. She rolled over the hood cracking the glass then saying hello to the concrete on the other side. Stalker transformed in midflight and attached himself to the power pole he would've smacked into.

Bruised all over, Diana managed to get to her feet by the time the empty cop car rounded for another run at her.

"Diana, move!" the Autobot scampered further up then leaped as the not-car revved. His trajectory sent him straight through the windshield of the vehicle where he whipped around and started tearing into the dashboard with his extremely sharp claws, ripping for the sensitive internals.

Growling in anger, Barricade transformed trying to reach the aggravatingly agile attachment.

Gawking at the sheer size of the newcomer, Diana quickly snapped out of her daze and reached for the handgun in her bag that she'd stolen out of her Dad's safe. If what Stalker had told her it would do nothing to the oversized meat masher. However there was no thinking involved, she'd been to the gun range enough to know how to use one. She cocked the gun, aimed and fired for the giant's head.

Had Barricade not been preoccupied with Stalker his acute senses would've picked up the projectile long before it came even close to his face. He flinched enough that the bullet didn't go straight down the socket but it still hit home. The Decepticon let out an outraged mechanical cry.

"Oh shit that one in a million shot…" Diana made a run for it as thunderous steps advanced behind her. Stalker tried to distract the fuming 'Bot but his joints suddenly failed as he was digging for Barricade's arm hydraulics. The nineteen foot fall hurt more than it should've as Stalker smashed into the ground.

"Diana…"

"Oh fuck fuck fuck fuck!" the girl screamed as she was knocked off her feet. The next thing she knew she had a splitting headache and the other side of her body had been bruised. Barricade stomped over to her and raised his foot to ultimately terminate the annoyance.

A loud revving made Barricade look over with his good eye only to be met with two precise hits to his face. He stumbled around clutching his damaged head screeching in Cybertronian.

"Ah you never were that pretty to begin with." muttered an electronically female voice.

Fighting to stay conscious Diana realized the one who had spoke was a black and hard pink 2006 Buell Firebolt that had pulled up beside her rider less except for Stalker who was barely managing to cling to the handles.

"Hurry up kid we just pissed him off more." The Autobot insisted. Ignoring the pain Diana heaved herself onto the motorbike and gripped it for dear life as it sped away from the infuriated Decepticon.

_Hm that went well._ The human thought as she heard an explosion of fury behind them.

OOO

**Oh my gosh no Bee?!**

**That's right, next chapter folks! **

**I don't understand why people complained about having Arcee in the movie… yeah they don't have genders but to us the autobots are all boys. Sheesh it's just the personalities they take on to communicate better.**

**) But I guess it's to each his/her own.**

**Thank you very much in advance for your reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay****Yay****yay****! Cookies for all! –****tosses**** cookies into the crowd- ****Thank you very much for the story alerts and reviews!**** It really cheers me up to see people enjoy****ing**** my ****fics****. Well, on with the show!**

**Oh by the way, you'll all be ****gettin****' an art of ****atleast**** this new Transformer comin' up since I've dubbed her a project for my Specialized Art class**** (being the ditz I am with drawing mechanical beings I wanted to challenge myself)****. Hope you enjoy it when I finish it!**

**Chapter ****4**

"I told you to move! Not to engage!" Stalker snarled as he paced the crate he'd dubbed his judge seat. He limped badly but his regeneration was kicking in slowly. His burn wounds remained unchanged however.

"Exactly, you told me to move, you didn't exactly specify how to though." Diana snapped back. After their rescuer had found a secure location in an abandoned warehouse just outside of Mission City, they'd taken stock of their situation. Diana was badly bruised all over with a minor concussion and a fractured arm bone where Barricade had hit her and Stalker was no better off than before.

"You know what I meant! Don't play ignorant with me, that Decepticon could've killed you!"

Diana jumped to her feet so that she was eye to eye, "Would've killed you to if I hadn't a distracted it!"

"I was fairing well on my own!"

"Not from where I was standin'."

Stalker came up almost touching her face, "Than you should've moved so I had more room to wreak havoc on him."

"You were so losing and you know it!" Diana wasn't the least bit intimidated.

"I was not!"

"Were to!"

"This is ridiculous! I refuse to fight like I'm a six year old of your kind!" he turned his back, giving the message of 'talk to the tail'… or so it seemed to Diana.

"Hey we're not finished here! I told you I would help you any way I could and I absolutely refuse to go back on my word when I give it! So Mr. Cranky Wanky you are just gonna have ta' deal with me helping you you stubborn son ova-."

The Autobot attachment swung his head around, "_Cranky __Wanky_ What the hell Diana this _isn't_ some video game you played at home! It's war!"

"And you _think_ I'm not aware of that?! Psh! You say you see me as an equal yet you sure don't treat me like one!" Diana hissed.

Stalker's ears perked up at this, he opened his mouth to say something but shut it and turned away again hanging his head. He could sense Diana was still glaring at him, if she'd been able she would've bore holes through his armor with the intensity of her gaze. The uncomfortable silence seemed to drip from the air for an eternity.

"I apologize for my duplicity, Diana. I'm just… I was just worried for your safety."

"Ya think I wasn't for you?!"

Their argument was interrupted by the other sentient being in the room who'd been sitting in her humanoid alt watching them duke it out, "If I may intervene for a moment… I think the point has been made and I predict you two could go on for hours but I don't think we have that time." When she stood she was about seven feet tall, appropriate for her being a two-wheeled vehicle.

"Sorry." The two looked at each other when they answered at the same time.

"We're sorry for not giving you proper thanks for saving us." Stalker said, "My designation is Stalker, attachment scout to Shadow." Diana glanced at her friend, despite her annoyance with him she realized that even after the crash landing Stalker had never mentioned his comrade's name.

"My designation is Arcee, sniper in the ranks before Cybertron was abandoned." She gave them a bow which Diana awkwardly returned only after she saw Stalker do the same.

"When did you arrive here?" Stalker asked.

"As soon as I received the Commander's message about this being our new home, I was hoping to find him soon after I landed but then I detected that slaggin' Decepticon rushing for your locale."

Stalker sat up, "The Commander is alive?"

Arcee shrugged, "It's an old message, but he sounded content. I will be happy to have you come with me in my search, perhaps we'll even find a proper doctor for you, Stalker."

"Don't you have some emergency field medic training… uh Arcee?" Diana butted in. The pink Autobot arced what looked like a metal brow.

"Stalker was damaged when he landed… uh his partner…uh"

"I know."

She blinked, "You do?"

"An attachment Autobot is never far from his host, Diana." Arcee informed the girl.

"Oh."

Stalker nudged the human, "It's ok Diana, let us just be happy Arcee came when she did… I'm over due for repairs."

"Indeed." Arcee agreed.

Diana's smile hid the fact that she was absolutely terrified of riding motorcycles. There was nothing to stop you from saying 'Hi!' to the ground if you fell off the seat. But of course that wouldn't be polite to say something like that to your savior.

OOO

Judi Witwicky was oblivious to the battle of wills being played out behind her as she pulled weeds and prepared her flower beds for the colder months ahead. Mojo was barking circles around Bumblebee who found the rodent a large annoyance as he tried to keep his attention focused on his self proclaimed chore of watching the skies for his comrades. The Witwicky household wasn't exactly the most ideal spot for scanning but it would serve until Sam said he didn't need him to take him anywhere for the moment.

"Ggrrrarf! Grrr!" Mojo rounded the Camaro's bumper then stopped to sniff something next to the car's tire. Realizing what the dog was going to do Bee burned rubber, sending dust and gravel everywhere and scaring the nuisance away for now. Mojo whined and leaped for his mistress' protection.

_Stupid organic._ Bee thought irritably.

Upstairs Sam's phone rang causing him to lose his concentration and the equation he'd been working on completely left his thought stream, "Damn it Bee." Sam muttered as he answered, "What?"

"Is this a bad time to ask if I can go somewhere for awhile?"

Sam spun around in circles on his chair twiddling his pen between his fingers, "Go ahead Bumblebee, I'm no longer the carrier of your race's fate I don't need protection anymore. If you're bored go ahead and do your thing. I don't need to go anywhere today."

Bumblebee felt a bit denied of his friend's companionship. But the world's education system was taking up a lot of the boy's time and after all, he could wait. He had all the time in the galaxy.

"Great," Bee said, "But could you remove your mother from my immediate vicinity?" the Autobot sensed the boy's exasperation before hanging up. He watched Sam come out on the balcony to catch his mother's attention with the request of making a snack to eat. In this moment Bee took the opportunity to slip away unnoticed, the ignorance that some humans had just astounded Bumblebee sometimes.

Building up to almost top speed like he wanted to would only serve hazardous on the freeways since there was so much holiday traffic. So Bee settled for racing through the fields of wild life reservation on the way to Mission City. In the midst of driving through the air after hitting a hill the image of Megatron from his dream hit him without warning. The Autobot transformed but didn't make it in time to land on his feet.

"Ow…" the scout twisted his legs back into their proper sockets with a loud _pop!_ Bee didn't stand, he just sat there hands on his knees looking at the ground.

_Is peace really this hard to deal with?_ Bumblebee's optics dimmed at the thought of all his frightful moments congregating into a massive hurting lump in his spark. He leaned back staring into the depths of the infinite sky. In his lifetime he'd really not had time to really socialize at least in long increments. Nothing wrong with the company of Ratchet, Ironhide and Commander Prime but they seemed keen on different things now that this was their new home.

Suddenly Bee remembered the time when he'd first encountered humans. It had been over sixty years when their new ship the Ghost had accidentally found out that their modifications had caused them to go through a wormhole. The frightened astronauts had hidden on a planet long past its prime and in looking for them Bumblebee had fell into a pit trap created by ferocious metal crunching worms. It wasn't a complete accident, Bee had been curious about the structures that had surrounded the sink hole. Perhaps that's what Ratchet had meant, take up his interest in studying things again. The medic's keen eye was a blessing.

Bumblebee stood, vibrating slightly to rid himself of the dust that had clung to his armor. Suddenly he noticed a flaming object in the sky he'd missed before. Something large was entering Earth's atmosphere! Eagerly Bee scanned the object and rejoiced to find out that it was the cometary form of a Transformer. Usually his race only had two forms but this third one was one almost all of them had to enter atmospheric planets especially useful when you weren't one that could fly like Starscream.

Calculating the trajectory of the other Transformer, Bee high tailed it to that location as fast as he could.

The landing sight was smoldering with molten rock and crispy plant life where the Transformer had fallen. Bee climbed the boulders to the pit where the hopefully friendly other was still recovering.

To his utter dismay there was nothing except trace amounts of armor that had flaked off from the intense heat.

Not willing to give up Bumblebee glanced around and found a set of tracks leading away from the site. Opening all channels of communication the scout called out as he rushed to follow the newcomer.

_"Hello? This is Bumblebee, can you connect?"_ he called out in Cybertronian. For some reason he could not detect a significant signal to give away the newcomer's position. Bee switched his vision to heat seeking and found what he was looking for. The other Transformer was still radiating large amounts of heat from the friction of the atmosphere.

_"Bumblebee?"_ the voice that responded didn't come from what he was looking for. Almost immediately Bee detected two Autobot signatures accompanied with a human. So who was the third?

Then all of a sudden his systems were jammed by an electronic shockwave emanated by the unidentified Transformer.

_"Hold on Bumblebee! We'll come to you! After this stupid __slaggin__' other stops that is!"_

_"__Arcee__?!"_

_"The one and only baby."_

Bumblebee turned off all his tracking outlets and resorted to old fashioned looking. He crashed through the trees in his excitement and stumbled on not Arcee but a kind of Transformer he'd never seen before.

The Transformer's rich red armor completely sealed off its inside, it looked like its spark cavity could open at will. What struck him as odd however was that the other's body was decorated with their alphabetical symbols they'd taken from the Allspark.

The Transformer looked as surprised at Bumblebee's appearance as he was of its.

_"Greetings."_ Was all Bumblebee could get out at first. When the other didn't respond he tried again, "_What's your designation?"_ he extended his hand in a human greeting.

_"…Sparkle."_ She glanced down at his hand unsure of what to do. Her name suited her appearance since despite being red she glittered gold and the characters decorating her armor glinted blue at some angles. She was rather… dazzling to Bee's optics.

"Ahem, are we interrupting something?" Arcee said in English. Bee pulled his hand away quickly glancing in Arcee's direction, "Eh.. sorry. Um…"

The pink Autobot threw up her arms in exasperation, "Jeez Bee it's been a thousand years and I don't even get a greeting." She turned her back on the yellow 'Bot, "Hmph, the nerve!"

_"You've all taken on the languages of this planet?"_ Sparkle asked in Cybertronian.

"Whoa! What's with the funky noises?" the dark haired human yelled.

"No need to shout, Diana." Sighed the smallest Autobot.

"They're so high up I feel the need to be heard." She said in a sing song voice.

Bumblebee looked from Arcee to Sparkle then back again suddenly unsure of who to deal with first.

"Uh… when did you get here Arcee?" such wrong thing to say.

Arcee rested her head on her hand feeling a bit sassy, "Well, since Mr. Compassionate is so concerned go ahead and fill in Miss Sparkle first, we only have a critically injured Autobot over here who wants to see the Commander. Oh and I'm next in line." She added and looked up at the recent arrival that still hadn't bothered to download the Internet.

Diana approached the transformed Camaro, "Hey big n' yellow! We need a medic down here!" she kicked his leg.

"Hey watch the paint!" Bumblebee turned to talk to Sparkle again but was surprised to see that she'd slipped away while he'd been paying attention to the others.

"Bee! Sweetie, we can catch up later but for now: Optimus, maybe even Ratchet if he's around? We've been lookin' all over for you guys." Arcee was suddenly all business.

"It would be much appreciated to have the good doctor around." Stalker said from where he lay in Diana's arms.

"Alright! I'm on it, but what about Sparkle?" Bumblebee glanced in what he thought was the way she'd left.

"Glittercheeks? She can take care of herself till we get a doctor now come on!" Diana was jumping up and down now, unknowingly causing considerable discomfort to Stalker.

"Bee, give me the frequency and I'll contact them myself, go take care of our newcomer. She seems a bit… odd." The yellow Autobot nodded, gave her the codes and left.

"Wow," Diana looked at Stalker, "He seemed a bit indecisive."

"I think we just met up at an inconvenient time for him to process." Said Stalker.

"Like a stereotypical TV nerd trying to talk to the opposite sex." Diana mused. Stalker frowned obviously not agreeing with her comparison.

Sparkle hadn't gone as far as Bumblebee had initially thought. She'd stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the distant Mission City. He slowed down taking in her sight. From her make up it looked like she really didn't have an alt form that the human's machines replicated.

"Did you receive the Commander's message and come here?" Bumblebee asked when he stood beside her.

_"Yes, I heard it."_

"I should also mention that Commander Prime told us to stay with the language of our new home."

Sparkle looked at him then nodded. Digits and characters from all nationalities flashed across her pale pink optics indicating her absorption of the Internet's information.

"Where is Optimus Prime?" she asked.

Bumblebee couldn't help but feel disappointed. Here he was looking for new companionship and all they wanted was his elders. _With good reason I guess._

"I'm not sure of his current location, but he's on this continent if that's what you're wondering."

"That is alright," her tone suddenly changed to a lighter one, "I'm sorry, I never got your designation."

"Bumblebee." He held out his hand again this time receiving hers as well.

"Ha! I guess I'm just a little disoriented from my journey." The other Transformer laughed shyly rubbing the back of her head, "Um, don't worry about me, your friends seem to need your help more than me right now."

As if to reinforce her point Arcee's voice rang out through the foliage making Bee jump horribly, "Bee! Get your aft in gear we've got to meet Ratchet back in Tranquility!"

_Just like old times._ Bee verbally sighed in exasperation. He turned to leave but stopped when he realized Sparkle had grabbed his arm.

"Sorry but… I don't have an alt mode except for cometary."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Uhm… hmm that poses a problem. You see we need to keep under local camouflage so the humans that don't know about us don't panic and possibly turn against us." Bee said.

"Bee!" Arcee called as she popped her head out of the trees, "Come on let's get a move on!"

"Last I checked I was higher ranked than you!" Bumblebee snapped irritably.

"Key word 'was'!" this was the human Diana who answered from Arcee's hip. She appeared to be getting very upset at the delays.

"Just, give me a minute." Bee turned back to Sparkle trying to think of a solution, "Well… it doesn't necessarily have to be a wheeled vehicle. Please, come join us. We'll be heading to these coordinates." He sent them before going to join the others. Sparkle watched them leave quickly so that the small one could see Ratchet as quickly as possible. There were clicking noises as the several shafts jutting from her back rearranged themselves to accommodate for her transformation.

"Primus Bumblebee I know you're easily distracted by choice objects worth of study but that was ridiculous!" Arcee teased over a private line. It was still at least an hour's drive to Tranquility and the human Diana hadn't been to keen on riding Arcee for that long. So she ended up in Bee's backseat where she'd quickly fallen asleep. It had seemed like an eternity since she'd laid on something comfortable and warm. Stalker was in hibernation mode underneath her protective arm.

"Can it Arcee! I was just concerned for Sparkle that's all."

The motorcycle's revving sounded more like a growl as she pulled up beside the Camaro, "Aw calm down Bee I'm just teasin' is all! She is a rather unique isn't she?"

"What're you talkin' about?"

"Sparkle, you nimrod! She musta been bored out of her mind somewhere to actually start etching on her armor like a tribal human. Well I guess she was a blessing in disguise, her arrival brought us back together."

"It was a convenient coincidence is all."

Arcee made a sniffling sound like she was about to start leaking like a human did when they were upset, "You're not happy to see me?"

Bumblebee realized what he'd said was a little cold, "No! No I'm happy to see you! Stop playing the guilt trip!" he was suddenly bumped from behind, "Hey watch it! I'm still bigger than you!"

"Yeah but you got passengers." The motorcycle pulled up alongside again, this time her hologram of a leather clad feminine figure with a pink biking helmet was gone.

There was a sudden clap of thunder that made the two Autobots jump figuratively. Diana twitched in the back seat but didn't wake. Above them flying a little too low for human comfort was Sparkle, she'd taken the form of a Cybertronian jet.

"I'll see you two at the coordinates then?" Sparkle chirped.

"Don't fly so low! You could get caught!" Bee yelled.

"Yes Glittercheeks we'll be there."

" 'Glittercheeks'?"

"Something the human called you earlier." Arcee replied.

"Oh." Confused since that wasn't her designation Sparkle pulled up to the clouds where a storm was gathering.

Bee sighed in exasperation, this day hadn't turned out at all how he'd expected.

000

**Hmm I'm tired… this chapter was getting long. –****yawns****- Time for bed.**

**Thank you in advance for your reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Ah fuck!" pain pulsed harshly through Diana's nerves. She sat up quickly making her head rush, "Owowow!" she favored her arm, "Daaamn it why'd I have to end up sleeping on the arm that was injured!" she made a mental note to hit herself later for cursing so much.

"I was wondering when you'd notice. You turned over five minutes ago." Bee's dismembered voice startled the girl.

"Ah well thank you for that useless bit of information." Diana hissed.

"You're welcome?" _What a rude girl._ Bee thought but instantly regretted it when he realized she was just worried for her friend. The attachment Autobot had fallen into hibernation mode with no security sensors to speak of. Even if Autobots were together they didn't leave their guard down. His complete bio scan told him that the attachment was going to need some serious repairs to recover from what he'd been through.

Diana pulled Stalker onto her lap with her good arm. He was surprisingly light for being made almost completely out of metal. Then again he wasn't exactly made of iron.

"How much longer till we get to this… Ratchet guy?" the young lady asked the Camaro.

"Fifteen minutes." Bee replied.

"Oh." She rubbed the bruise swelling underneath her hair, "Stupid cop cruiser."

"Cop cruiser?"

"That's who attacked me and Stalker in Mission City. The big bully would've succeeded if Arcee hadn't shown up." She looked out the window at the pink and black 'Bot and smiled at the memory of hearing the Decepticon get his face rearranged.

"That cruiser was Barricade, interesting that he survived Commander Prime's assault last year. Speaking of which, how long have you and Stalker been together?" Bumblebee asked.

"Barely half a year, I don't know the whole story but from what I gather he crash landed here and his partner Shadow had been severely damaged upon entering orbit… or something like that." Diana stroked her friend's warm head absentmindedly, "His wide ranged communicators had been damaged. So he couldn't give you guys a ring."

There was a moment of silence before Bee said, "I'm sorry, I should've noticed. I've been watching the skies for more of my race. I-."

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost, just a few more blocks."

The two Autobots pulled into a huge warehouse on the outskirts of Tranquility. Diana leaned over to look out of Bee's window to see three even bigger Autobots in one corner of the empty warehouse. There was several boxes set up in a semi-circle that looked like they were unfolding themselves into work consoles.

Sparkle was there, talking to the three of them.

"… and that's about it. I found your message and I'm happy to comply. It's been too long since I've been in the company of my own kind." Sparkle was saying to Optimus Prime who was listening intently. Bee took note of how the Transformer spoke. It wasn't military like in anyway which he found strange. He waited till Diana climbed out with Stalker before Transformer.

"You are more than welcome to stay as a Cybertronian, the only problem I see is you being found out." Optimus was saying, "I don't want the humans to bother you in any negative way."

Diana felt like she was going to fall over if she looked up at their faces, "HEELLLOOOOOO!" she grinned when she got their attention, "Hi um, we have an injured one here. Which one of you big guys is Ratchet?" suddenly she felt a little self-conscious under all those piercing blue optics.

"I'm Ratchet, please step this way with the one in question." The reflective yellow Autobot gestured to one of the tables. He reached down for the Autobot which the human gave him.

"Female, you are injured as well." Optimus said.

"The female is called Diana, sir." Arcee responded for the girl.

The surgical table wasn't made for humans comfort. Diana was glancing around for a place to climb for a place to watch the medic. It seemed her gestures gave away her thoughts since Sparkle picked up the surprised human.

"Whoa!" Diana cried but was happy once Sparkle had placed her on her shoulder.

"Better?"

"Yeah thanks."

Ratchet was moving with unprecedented accuracy as he examined Stalker to discern what he would need to do when he went further with the operation.

"Diana, you need medical assistance yourself." Optimus prodded again.

"I'm fine, it's just a fracture Big Daddy." Diana realized how rude she was being to her friend's leader and her attention wavered from the table, "Eh… sorry… Commander Prime… sir. I'm… gosh I'm just not worried about myself right now."

"You have no need to address me as 'Commander' since you do not serve in our military." Optimus said, "However, I must insist that you get in good health yourself. Ratchet is one of the best in his field of work, Stalker will be alright."

"No seriously, if I turn up on official records at the hospital the government will be all over this town! They tried to catch me in Mission City because I'd seen footage taken of this big honkin' helicopter Decepticon fighting… oh speakin' a which Stalker said he had a message for you. He didn't tell me it though."

This girl certainly had a lot of energy. She jumped from one subject to the next without taking a breath. Speaking of which she was now examining Sparkle.

"Hey, Glittercheeks, how come you don't have an Autobot or a Decepticon symbol on you?"

Bumblebee whacked his head with one hand. Did this girl ever shut up? She was perceptive he gave her that. But with her jumping around on subjects it was kind of hard to tell what she was feeling.

Sparkle laughed, "You're funny, you don't seem to be able to get names correct."

"She is a Cybertronian who'd decided to join neither faction." Optimus told the human while simultaneously contacting Makeala to ask if she was available to take the other female to a safe place.

"Really? So you're a neutral then? How many of you are there?"

"Not that many unfortunately." Sparkle said with a hint of sadness.

"Optimus, this one is going to need a complete body reconstruction. His Energon links are damaged beyond repair, he has plenty of Energon stored just no solid connection to it." Ratchet informed the Commander who only nodded. The medic picked up the Autobot and placed him into one of the disguised 'boxes' which was actually a restoration pod.

Bumblebee suddenly noticed that Diana looked horrified. He opened his vocals to say something but the Cybertronian was quicker.

"Relax Diana, Stalker is in good hands. Let us go for now until the regeneration is complete." Sparkle looked at the girl.

"No I wanna stay."

"His regeneration could take more than a few days to be properly done." Ratchet said amiably, "You would do better to make sure you yourself don't get into worse health."

"I hear an echo." Diana huffed but agreed to their persistence.

"A human friend of ours, another female, is willing to bring you things you need. If you are afraid of being discovered then you are welcome to stay here." Optimus inquired.

OOO

Ratchet said that the machine would do the rest for him for now, in the mean time he had to get back to the garage before anyone noticed he was gone. Ironhide left to return to the Lennox's and Optimus Prime and Arcee left together still discussing military events since they'd been apart. Sparkle said she wanted to stay and watch the human female.

Bumblebee hummed outside the warehouse waiting for Makaela but his patience was shorter than usual. He transformed, the evening sun reflecting golden rays off his armor.

In his rush Bee collided with Sparkle who'd been standing right in front of the door.

"Gah! Sorry, Sparkle, I wasn't paying attention." The 'Bot stammered but to his relieve Sparkle hadn't seemed to mind.

Sparkle was looking at the girls at the other side of the warehouse, "They connect so well despite having just met each other." Makaela was sitting with Diana on the sleeping bag she'd provided. They were talking about something and whatever it was, was upsetting Diana greatly. She was crying and Makaela ended up holding the other in order to comfort her.

"It's an organic thing. The same genders tend to flock together." Was all Bee could say. He opened his sonics to hear what the girls were talking about. He got as far as Makaela saying something along the lines of 'it'll be ok' before he received a solid _whap!_ to the back of his head.

"Ow! Primus, what was that for!" Bumblebee hissed while rubbing the spot.

Sparkle lowered her hand, "For being an eve's dropper. It's rude!"

The resounding thud echoed across the warehouse causing Diana and Makaela to look up.

"I wasn't aware it was rude, I spy on people all the time! It's what I do as a scout!" Bumblebee tried to justify his actions.

Sparkle placed her fists on her hips, "Don't do it on your friends dolt! You should control your bad habits better."

"Bad habits?! I'm a scout! Not a bored sparkling."

"You could of fooled me."

Despite having been crying, Diana's face cracked into a grin which led to her laughing at the arguing 'Bots.

Bee gave a 'humph' and proceeded to stomp out of the warehouse.

OOO

"What do you think of them Bee?"

"Of who?"

Makaela kicked the dashboard, "Of the new girls, they're really nice."

"One can't restrain her vocals and the other acts like a… a…" he struggled to find the right comparison.

"Acts like she has a fancy for you?"

"Huh?"

Makaela laughed, "Nothing, so what about this Arcee figure I heard about what's your guys' story?"

"We were in the same platoon, the leaders of our group. I never saw her after my run in with Megatron. When I woke up from stasis they told me she'd gone off on another mission. Actually she was trained by Ironhide to be an expert marksman. She rivals him actually." Bee explained.

"Uh huh, so back on this Sparkle and Diana topic…"

Bee's motor revved but it was actually more of an electronic growl, "Why are you so insistent on them?"

"Why are you so touchie?"

"…."

Makaela didn't wait for Bee to form a response, "Diana's not that bad, she just jumps around to keep her mind busy, so that the worry doesn't freak her out. When all the others left she had time to sit and think. That's when she got upset. She's afraid for Stalker, poor girl."

Bee had to resist the urge to slam on his breaks and turn around. First he had to take Makaela home, then he would return.

"Why didn't she say so in the first place she didn't want to be alone?"

She shrugged, "Didn't want to bother any of you."

"Sometimes, I just don't get you humans." Bee sighed mentally in exasperation.

"Probably never will."

**000**

**Hmm kind of lacking chapter to me but that's ok because it leads right into the next one.**

**Anything anyone wants to see? ****Suggestions?**** I take into account requests! Sometimes it helps me improve the ****fic**** from what I already have for you reader's sake.**


	6. Chapter 6

**:) Thank you those that have added me! **

**SerenBunny, Superhumansaiyajin, Mystic-Nin, ****technodragon78****, Tristone, ****Delphine Pryde****, Calger**,

**It brings a lot of encouragement. **

**I'm not sure if this chaps a bit slow… staying up late to finish it does that to ya sometimes… -yawns-**

**Chapter 6**

By the time Bumblebee returned it was late in the night by human terms. Scanning the warehouse he found that Sparkle was there. Except that she was the only one active, Diana's bio signs were steady and low, indicating sleep.

Sparkle glanced up from where she was standing over the tired adolescent, "She's dreaming." Her volume was low so as not to wake the human.

This piqued Bee's curiosity, he stood next to the other Transformer looking at the girl. Indeed, her brain waves were unusually active for sleep.

"I've been here a long time yet humans still confound me sometimes." Bee said, more to himself than to Sparkle.

"Why's that?"

"Instead of resting like they should be, their subconscious mind continues on, she's probably not going to be fully rejuvenated when she awakens."

Sparkle rubbed her chin searching the Internet for the information on the subject before resorting back to Cybertionian wisdom, "They aren't us Bumblebee, for all we know they could be evolving into a formidable foe in the future. Well, hopefully not a foe."

"They're already formidable, at least in large numbers with the right weapons."

Sparkle chuckled and shifted, causing shimmers to shoot across her sleek slender body from the dim light emanating from Ratchet's machines. Bumblebee found this feature of the other… appealing for some reason.

"No seriously, some have figured out ways to subdue us." Bumblebee thought he'd come across a little harsher than he'd intended.

"Bumblebee, what exactly happened to the Allspark?" Sparkle looked at him.

Caught off guard by the question Bee looked away a little too quickly.

"I already know it's destroyed, I'd just like to know what happened."

"Sam… my friend, he didn't have enough time to get away. Megatron was right there, the Commander insisted that the Allspark be destroyed. I'm glad Sam thought quickly and took out the High Lord instead."

"I see, where's Megatron's remains?"

"They were dumped in the Lagrange Abyss, so no one could touch them, courtesy of the Secretary of Defense."

"So this is the end." Sparkle returned to her examining of Diana's brain waves.

Bumblebee rubbed the back of his said neck, a habit he'd picked up from Sam, "That doesn't mean we have to go quietly into the night."

"Don't worry I'm not that sad."

Bumblebee straightened up in surprise, "Why?"

"Because I get to spend time with all of you, Bumblebee." Sparkle smiled.

"Please, just call me Bee."

She nodded, "As a citizen you didn't get to socialize much, you were always trying to hide from both sides. Hoping your aft wouldn't get caught in the crossfire."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it sweetie."

Down below the near twenty foot Transformers, Diana was asleep leaning against the machine that held Stalker. She twitched, her calm face turning into a frown.

Suddenly the Transformers noticed that her brain activity was spiking off the charts. However before they could register concern Diana blinked and her activity settled to normal wakeness.

She stretched and yawned, "W-who's there?" she glanced up but could only see a red and yellow blur. Muttering about her eyes she fumbled around for her glasses.

"Are you alright Diana?" Sparkle asked.

Jamming them on her nose Diana looked up with bleary eyes, "What're you talkin' about? What time is it anyway?"

"Two AM." Bee said, "Your brain activity was off the charts for approximately two seconds before you woke."

"Oh, must've been the dream I had. The first part of the dream was all funky, I think I was mad at a pile of bananas for not making my favorite waffles… anyway." She continued ignoring the strange expressions she received, "Near the end I was walking around this sick lookin' Pontiac Solstice… except it didn't work. The weird thing is the car was sitting in what looked like a coffin." Diana shrugged and stood up, her body was numb where the hard floor had pressed against her soft flesh.

"Pontiac Solstice? That's what Lieutenant Jazz used as a local camouflage." Bee felt a tug in his spark as he remembered the ecstatic comrade.

"Lieutenant Jazz?" Diana smiled, "Sounds like a fun guy, when can we meet him?"

Bumblebee's optics grew dim, "You don't be meeting him, Megatron tore him in two during the Final Battle." Sparkle looked down at this.

Diana's smile faded, "Oh… sorry. I didn't…" she turned away and thumped her head on the regeneration pod. It hummed underneath her skull, working steadily, reassuringly. She didn't mention the part where she'd seen the car rev to life.

"At least he didn't die in vain. You Autobots achieved your goal of peace." Sparkle tried to lighten the dark mood that had settled over the group.

"Yeah true, I had just hoped that the good Lieutenant would be able to enjoy it with us." Bee shuffled his feet. It would've been a completely human thing to do except his feet weren't as quiet on the ground.

Diana's head snapped up, "Jazz wasn't dumped like the rest of the Decepticons was he?"

Bee shook his head, "No, we gave him a ceremony of passing, his body lays in a pod inside Hoover Dam." He explained about the abandoned research facility. Sparkle seemed particularly interested in the dam whereas Bee felt quite the opposite.

"Screw all this chillin' talk 'Bots! What kind of music do you guys make?" _What sort of question is that Diana?! It's not like they have genre's of music._

"Music?"

"Yeah, ya know."

Bee tilted his head and explained to Sparkle, "The form of compressed sound molecules and rhythmic noise, music is a huge part of human culture."

Diana looked disappointed, "You don't sound too excited about it…"

"We never had anything like that till now. I still don't quite understand it myself."

"W-what?! No music? _No music?!_ What is wrong with you 'Bots!" Diana yelled.

"Nothing is damage-."

"No no that's not what I meant. No music, that's blasphemy!" Diana dove for her bag looking for something. Despite having just woken up after six hours of sleep she was really hyper.

While the three discussed music, a small figure crab walked through a small hole in the wall and slipped out of site amidst some debri left by bums. Frenzy stood to his full height of ferocious four feet. He peeked one of his four eyes over the container he was hiding behind.

What immediately caught his eye was not just the regeneration pods but Sparkle especially. Neither faction had too many 'Bots with reflective armor like the one he was examining. She had neither a Decepitocon or Autobot energy signature which he found peculiar about her. In fact he couldn't get much of her anyway, her armor seemed to prevent all levels of scanning.

Making a mental note to mention her to Starscream later, Frenzy made his way stealthily to the back of the regeneration pod. He would've missed it if it hadn't been in use, clever Autobot scum. He started twisting off several caps so he could get inside without alerting the others.

_Destroy the attachment._ Starscream had told him. Frag, barely out of regeneration himself and already out on a mission.

Suddenly he heard Barricade's name mentioned. Immediately tuning in one of his sonics to the conversation, he continued unraveling the backside of the pod.

"You did what to him?"

"I shot him in the eye… or at least close to it. Damn that reminds me that I don't have my dad's gun anymore…"

_So my slaggin' partner is still alive. Frag him, he hasn't reported in._ Thought the Decepticon as he finally was able to reach the inside.

_Ting!_

Frenzy froze, all sensors strained to their limit. One eye saw that one of the screws had fallen out of his metallic appendages.

Soft footsteps rounded the pod, the human female yelled in anger at the sight of him. Clicking in annoyance Frenzy let lose a round of plasma shots into the pod before scrambling the way he'd come.

Bee was about to let lose his own round of plasma shots but stopped when Diana came into his line of fire, "No! Diana stay away from him!"

Frenzy smacked into the ground as all one hundred and thirty pounds of flesh hit him. Squealing electronic noises he clawed at the fleshling, slicing flesh and woven plant fiber.

Bee rushed over to where the two were duking it out, if Frenzy managed to flip over he could unleash those deadly disks that the vicious fighter had used on him with so many times.

Diana's knuckles were bloody from her ineffective punches to the Decepticon's head. The annoyed 'Bot suddenly bent his arm and grabbed her fractured bone.

"SHIT!!" Diana screamed trying to dislodge herself from his powerful grip. Bumblebee was there in a millisecond, his fist smashing the ground where Frenzy had been. The agile Decepticon sprayed Cybertronian curses at the Autobot as he scrambled out of the warehouse.

O

Frenzy galloped on all fours into the local plant life till he deemed it was safe to slow down.

"S-sz-stupid organic glitch!" he piped while trying to clear away the girl's blood. He felt even filthier than if he were bathed in the fluid remains of Autobots.

_"Frenzy, report."_

"Mission failure, I was discovered." He reported the rest before Starscream had enough time to say 'I'll scrap you myself', "But th-th-that wasn't the most interesting part, th-th-there's a Cybertronian with the Autobots."

"We're all Cybertronians you-."

"No I mean she's of civilian status, a quite odd design even as far as our doctor is concerned." He sent the images he'd collected. There was a moment of silence as Starscream examined the information sent to him.

"This just saved you from joining Megatron in the Abyss. Keep an eye on this one, make contact if you can and if you have another chance get rid of that perceptive pest before he's fully repaired." The line was cut off so Starscream didn't hear Frenzy's sarcastic response.

O

"How's Stalker?" Diana asked. Ratchet had been called back, he was using nanobot injections to heal her bone and hands. She gritted her teeth trying not cry out. She absolutely hated needles but didn't want to say she did. She kept her attention focused on Sparkle who was examining the pod.

"He'll be fine, the process froze when some of the tubes were hit but no permanent damage has been done to the important gear." She replaced damaged parts then nodded to Bee who was standing at the console. He read a few readings, pressed a few switches and the pod hummed to life again.

"You're a brave one Diana, you jumped into battle despite being injured." Ratchet said quietly so as not to upset the female. Her body tensed every time he pierced her flesh with the needle.

"No one tries to kill my friends and gets away with it." She growled through gritted teeth. It was disturbing to feel the nanytes work inside her flesh. No it was downright creepy feeling! Like a million flees inside your muscles!

"Don't worry this is the last." Ratchet pulled the needle out, "He would've killed you you know. Good thing you weren't alone."

Diana shrugged and pulled her sleeve down.

Ratchet's bioscan of her vitals showed elevated heart rate, other than that she was normal. He mused about how that even though she was a civilian she had the nerves of a soldier. Unlike Sam who consistently had break downs.

"Bumblebee, you are to meet up with Arcee to track down Frenzy. I'll stay here to help protect Stalker and Diana." Ratchet relayed orders from Optimus.

"I'm on it." He patted Sparkle on the shoulder before leaving the warehouse.

"Be careful! There might be more." she called after him.

"Frag, Maggie told us Frenzy had bee offlined." Ratchet mumbled.

Diana didn't bother asking who Maggie was, she didn't really care. All she cared about at this point was having Stalker back to his normal self.

O

_"Sounds like something you'd do Bee."_ Arcee said over a securely encoded private line. Despite their orders they'd been trying to catch up while looking for Frenzy. The little annoyance was a really great hider. Right now the Autobots were searching each section around the warehouse. It was wooded enough that they could be in their natural forms.

_"Too bad I couldn't have done it while we were trying to keep the Decepticons distracted."_

_"That wasn't your fault, stop blaming yourself for my torture I received. You had it worse off, you even lost your voice."_

_"That's not the point…"_

Frenzy took advantage of their discussion to slip away back towards the warehouse. Galloping fluidly across the uneven terrain he picked up the sound of heavy footsteps. He skidded to a stop in time to avoid being unintentionally trampled by the one designated as Sparkle.

She took no note of him as she leaped into the air transforming into a Cybertronian jet and taking for the skies. He took note of her direction, relayed it to his superior before stalking back to the warehouse.

It was time for different tactics. Frenzy lowered his energy signature dangerously before continuing on.

O

"…this can't be right." Ratchet said while looking at the diagnostics the screen was showing.

"What?" Diana asked from her perch on the surgical table.

Creeping on the roof Frenzy found one of the openings worn out by weather. Determined not to fail a second time, he opened up his guns and began spinning a small plasma bomb.

"The information is telling me that the cycle was complete only a half an hour ago." Ratchet was saying below.

The bomb was almost finished.

"So?"

"It also shows that he's not in the pod anymore."

Suddenly the roof exploded and debri came raining down. Ratchet curled over Diana, the metals bouncing harmlessly off his armor.

Frenzy had dropped the bomb but on one of the rafters where it had exploded in his face. His sight sensors were damaged but his others told him that another attachment Transformer was clawing away at him.

Screams of rage filled the air as Stalker and Frenzy went tumbling across the surgical table. Locked in a mind boggling brawl the two took no note of the bigger 'Bot and human.

Ratchet pulled Diana off the table. If there was one thing he knew about attatchments it was that they were the things you were worried about crawling up your aft when you're dealing with the bigger counterpart. They were the one thing you never noticed during epic battles.

The two were matched in power, snarling in electronic beeps and clicks, rolling across the table in a blur of slashes and strikes, Frenzy only managed to detach from the Autobot with several plasma shots to the other's spark area. Scrambling across the table he leaped off and raced out of the warehouse with Stalker hot on his aft.

Stalker dug in his heels to stop when the Decepticon had passed the entrance. Metal hissed and shifted as the newly repaired Autobot stood on two feet. Remarkably he wasn't that much different than Frenzy in design except with a sleeker scheme. He fired a few shots where Frenzy had disappeared to further his point of keep away.

"His name precedes his abilities." Ratchet commented.

"No kidding, and I thought he was really good at sneaking while he was critically injured." Diana couldn't help but stare in awe. She felt her fight earlier had been clumsy in comparison.

Ratchet was looked at the Autobot then back at the pod. There was no way in all the galaxies he had been repaired already. Yet there he was, yelling curses into the darkness.

**OOO**

**Hmm I'd be yelling profane things at someone trying to kill me. Aww poor Frenzy he got pwned twice in one chapter!**

**Frenzy: I hate you**

**Hey watch it I just might do something embarrassing with you later on.**

**Frenzy: damn…**

**That's right! I'm the authoress and I get to do what I want! –tips Decepticon over-**

**Please leave all your pretty reviews! Thank you in advance!**

**See you next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you** **GrimlockX4** **and** **Diana Longman ****for adding!**

**I've been thinking about pairings lately… I honestly don't know if there will be any romantic pairings. We'll find out soon enough, I usually do these on a whim.**

**By the way… I have no idea what sort of winter weather Nevada gets so… if I'm wrong don't chew me out.**

**Chapter 7:**

"_Get back here you little glitch!!"_ Arcee snarled as she chased a frantic Frenzy deeper into the city's outer limits. Bee couldn't follow as easy since his hulking bulk caught the extended extremities of the organic growth. He saw his partner fire a few shots and a few choice Cybertronian insults were thrown back in return.

Frenzy wasn't about to lose his head a third time, he sprinted across the uneven ground only a blur to a human eye.

Arcee dug in her heels and stopped having lost total contact with the Decepticon. Her swearing only increased when Bee didn't watch his next step and ran right into her.

"Bee!! Get the slag off me!"

"S-sorry." He apologized, quickly removing himself, "That Frenzy sure can run." He mused.

Arcee snorted in disgust, "Well, _I_ can at least shoot something faster than Barricade."

He placed his digits against his heavily armored chest, "Ouch! Arcee that punctured my spark!" Bee responded with mock hurtfulness.

"Good, you slacker!" Arcee put away her guns, in much the same well earned arrogant manner as Ironhide did. Bumblebee was glad to have his old partner back; her feistiness reminded him of Diana.

Speaking of which…

000

"…You had me worried sick!" Diana was yelling at her 'Bot friend when Bee's call came through to Ratchet.

"I am _not_ your pet! You don't have to protect me so much!" Stalker's burning gold eyes were much brighter now that his inner workings were functioning properly.

"I don't protect my pets! I protect my friends! It's _you_ who needs to stop _worrying_ about _me_ you dork!"

Stalker's ears flattened in confusion, "I fail to see how I'm a-."

"Don't! Don't you dare finish that sentence! It's slang dumb ass!" she hit her forehead for cursing.

"I am _not_ a beast of burden you Caucasian Asian."

"What?! That's not even an insult! You've been hacking into my emails to my cousin again haven't you?!"

Ratchet groaned more in relief than annoyance and turned his back on the two who'd been fighting for the past ten minutes. The medic explained the current situation was better to say the least when he answered Bee's call.

"_They sound energetic."_ Bumblebee said in amusement when he heard the raised voices in the back round.

Ratchet chuckled, "They're definitely have a filial attachment it seems."

"_Are you switching locations now Officer?"_

"I have to, this wasn't an ideal spot to begin with."

"_Do you need help moving the equipment?" _That was Arcee.

"No, no I can handle it. You two should find Sparkle, I would like to have a word with her. Ratchet out." While simultaneously holding a conversation with the two soldiers Ratchet had contacted Commander Prime informing the leader of his movements. Ratchet turned to the consoles and pressed a few buttons. The equipment shuddered, whirred and began folding in on themselves.

"Hey! Don't hit me! You'll injure yourself!" Stalker whined.

"Argh! Just…" Diana took a deep breath and thought a saying her mom had taught her: _Soft and gentle_. Often she was screaming it in her head angrily but strangely it eventually worked.

_SOFT AND GENTLE SOFT AND GENTLE soft and gentle SOFT and gentle….ok I'm good. _

"Ok… let's just put this whole argument aside. Let's just be glad you're back in tippy top shape k?"

Stalker nodded.

"What were we arguing about anyway?"

Ratchet dropped the tool he was holding.

Stalker looked appalled.

Diana looked at them innocently before she started trembling with high pitched laughter. Her side started to hurt.

Her bio readings told the Autobots that despite the memory loss, the girl's systems were relieving themselves of harmful toxins created by her anger.

One ear tipped higher than the other, "Dia? Are you ok? Did you perhaps get hit in the head while you fought?"

Diana wiped away a tear, "Y-ya!" she leaned against the four foot mech, her legs threatening to give out beneath her.

"I've been researching the human body for some time now." Ratchet inserted, "Your argument went on with no logical explanation of the topics discussed. Verbal sparring is a good way to relieve overwhelming emotion for a human."

"What he said." Diana grinned, "Man! We must've looked stupid."

"Indeed…" Stalker decided it best not to recount the weird turns their 'verbal sparring' had taken. The 'Bot was caught off guard when his friend suddenly embraced him tightly.

"I just yell at you because I care for you, k? I'm glad you're ok."

Stalker was uncertain of what to do and looked to Ratchet for guidance. The medic made a gesture of return and the attachment gave Diana a hug back.

After awhile of being poked by Stalker's metal frame Diana let go then was immediately attacked with a chore.

"Oof!" she staggered under the weight of the cube Ratchet had shoved into her arms, "Wha-?!" before she could finish her sentence the 'Bot transformed into his alt and opened his back door, indicating the task. Stalker clicked a high pitch noise which sounded like a laugh. Diana glared and shoved the block into her partner's arms, "You too nimrod!" she went to get the other.

Ratchet took note of what most other 'Bots would overlook. Despite her major relief from yelling at her recouped friend, he saw her body tense slightly with ever so carefully controlled nervousness. The girl didn't like ambulances he realized as he pulled out of the warehouse. He did a more thorough scan of the female searching for signs of the body still healing from past traumas.

"Sooo…." Diana asked after a long silence, "Where are we going?" she looked at Stalker.

"I am taking you to a good friend of ours for now, till we get more information on the situation." Ratchet answered.

"Mmm! Stalker, you said you wanted to tell that Prime commander dude something important before you totally conked out remember?" she nudged him.

Stalker opened his vocal processors to answer then stopped, one earlike antenna twitching, "I… I can't remember what I wanted to say now." He pinned his ears back in frustration while filing through his memory, "It had… something to do with… science or something like that."

"Oh?" Ratchet's voice indicated his high level of interest.

Diana snapped her fingers a few times, "Is this like… trauma or something? Like, if a human gets hit in the head real hard and they can't remember anything before that? 'Cause when I saw Stalker land it was pretty… not smooth if I'm a judge at landing."

"Neurological damage is a possibility. Stalker you are not to hack for the next few days and don't do anything to strain your thought processors. Give yourself time to recover, I'll give you something to help speed up the process later."

"Thank you Officer Ratchet." Despite that, Stalker looked sourly disappointed to the fact that he was completely useless at the moment. Diana hoped her fidgeting would go unnoticed, not that Ratchet's seating was uncomfortable. She just wanted out of the sterile smelling car. It brought back… unwanted memories.

OOO

"_Ah man! It's going to be sooo quiet without Lieutenant Jazz, Primus receive his spark." Arcee_ said solemnly as she and Bee drove down one of the highways, _"I mean, remember back after Tyger Pax? He would cheer us up when the worst was staring us in the optics."_

" '_Do it with style or not at all.' "_ Bee quoted Jazz's favorite saying. They pulled into a wooded area and transformed, Sparkle was hard to find. But like any Transformer she left residue of her spent energies behind. A property only spy type Transformers could detect.

"Frag I've missed you so much!" Arcee suddenly said.

"Me to." Bee suddenly stumbled with surprise when Arcee jumped onto his shoulder.

She grinned mischievously, "I also miss making you my glitch."

"Oh no not the riding thing again! Arcee you are perfectly capable of walking on your own! Now off! We have orders to fulfill." Bumblebee tried to grab the feminine machine but failed miserably when she slid off his shoulder and clinged to his back.

"Uh uh! I'm lazy!" she laughed at his vain attempts to detach her from his armor.

"You aren't allowed to be lazy as a soldier!"

"It's peacetime we can afford it!"

"Get off!"

"No."

"Yes!"

"Nuh uh."

"Arcee get off!"

"Make me!"

"I will!" Bumblebee swung around intending to brush Arcee off with one of the nearby trees except he didn't see the glint of gold and red in time. Metals screeched as they ground together, the two Transformers went falling in a tangled heap with Bee standing at a loss of what to do.

This day wasn't bad… just weird!

"I'm sorry, I guess I should've tried to greet you both verbally instead." Sparkle was as big as Bee, so luckily she ended up on the bottom of the pile.

"Sheesh! What is with 'Bots and falling today?!" Arcee seethed, remaining sitting where she'd rolled off, head propped up with both hands.

"Eh heh heh," Sparkle laughed nervously as Bee helped her to her feet, "I guess I took the commander's orders a little too literally."

"No it's ok it was an accident." Bee helped Arcee up.

"Yeah… accident my foot!" she kicked him. Before Bee could react the pink and black 'Bot turned to Sparkle, "By the way sweetie, when you have the time Officer Ratchet wants to see you." She looked at her partner then jumped back onto his shoulder, "There, orders fulfilled. I can be lazy now." This time she made the mistake of not stopping Bumblebee from dragging her off.

"May I ask why?"

"He didn't say the reason." Bumblebee felt a little embarrassed but safe while holding Arcee by one foot upside down so she couldn't cause anymore mischief. She just folded her arms and _hmphed!_

Sparkle's frame shuddered with contained laughter, "A-alright, I will stay in communication range." Her pink optics shined with the laughter threatening to burst her spark chamber.

Bumblebee shook his head in exasperation, "Did you spend too much times with the twins or something Arcee?"

The fembot clicked in annoyance, "Hey when you're sent on a deep space mission with only those two to keep you company you have to survive somehow."

"They're alive?"

"Yeah, but they got distracted and will be landing a few days behind me. Speaking of which…" she stretched then flipped right side up gripping Bee's hand and he let go of her leg, "I could use a High Grade shot right about now." She landed softly.

"Only Ratchet knows where those are." Bee realized he was due for his dose as well.

"Well let's all go bug him as one big happy Autobot squadron!" Arcee transformed and headed out.

"You should come, it'll be fun." Bee assured Sparkle.

She smiled, "I'll join you soon I have something I need to take care of first, just don't take in all the Energon without me." The Transformer tilted over to watch the motorcycle leave, "Energetic… isn't she?"

"Definitely, more so since the last time I saw her." Bee felt a twinge of painful memory pop into his processors, "I guess you have to have a high energy level to be with the twins so long. Makes me wonder how Ratchet hasn't rearranged them in a way that they can't transform or something horrible like that." Bee chuckled at the thought of Ratchet chasing down the twins through the endless halls of the fortress they'd lived in for awhile, screaming and threatening them with his weaponry.

"Who are these twins?" Sparkle asked.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, Lieutenant Jazz's old wards. Man… they're going to have a horrible fit when they find out he's gone."

Sparkle lifted one hand touching his shoulder, he noticed her movements were slow, graceful and carefully considered, "This Jazz meant a lot to you all."

"Touched all of us, the commander said he would've made a great administrator once the war ended."

A honk interrupted the conversation, Arcee sat on the edge of the road waiting for them.

OOO

"Are we there yet?"

"Dia! You asked that two minutes ago! Have the patience you had while driving us here."

"Hey I was quiet because _I_ was actually doing the driving."

"St-."

"We're here children." Ratchet informed them sarcastically. The neon yellow ambulance pulled onto the driveway of a very spacious looking house, "This is the Witwicky residence, Samuel is the one that helped save our race from Megatron. He's agreed to take you in for awhile till we can contact your parents."

"No!"

Ratchet skidded to a stop after feeling a foot to his dashboard. Stalker immediately started to apologize for Diana's actions.

"Shut up Stalker! I'm not going home! I'll contact my parents, don't you guys dare do it otherwise the government will be crawling up me and my family's ass about seeing that dumb video of that copter alien." Aggressively she shoved open the door and jumped out. She was about to walk off but stopped at Ratchet's bumper. She looked at them both, "Sorry for yelling. I just need to make my point clear, I'm not going back, I'm here to help you guys now."

Both Transformers were silent as Diana walked past the hedge to the front door where she stopped and looked back waiting for her friend.

"Stubborn, isn't she?"

"Yes, in my states of consciousness I often heard Diana arguing with her parents about going out to places. It's strange, they often expressed their love to each other but when it came to leaving the nest they were subtly but absolutely against it. I never asked why this was."

"A story for another time perhaps, since she's so insistent for now I don't see a problem with her helping like Makaela and Sam do. I'll talk to Optimus about it, for now you both need rest."

"Yes sir… although I don't know how I'll survive without hacking something."

"You'll manage if you want to remember what was so important." He opened his door and the 'Bot jumped out, in midair there were clicks and whirs and he landed on all fours looking very much like a foxcat machine.

When the door opened a young man with dark hair opened the door, he smiled, "Hey you must be Diana Shae, I'm Sam." He shook her hand, "Ouch! Gotta good grip there."

"Thanks."

"Sam? Who is that?"

"Oh it's Makaela's friend! You know the one I told you about earlier."

Stalker barely had enough time to transform into his boom box alt before Judi Witwicky came running in.

"Oh hi there! Please come in come in we were just about ready to have lunch." mother mode clicked on when she saw how dirty the girl was, "Goodness but first a shower! You look like you've been through a lot honey."

"Yeah… I definitely need one." She followed Judi to the upstairs guest room that had its own bathroom. Diana found the size of the house almost as daunting as the Transformers. She could see herself getting lost.

"Oh it's so nice to have someone to talk to in the house, you know how the kids go to college and get on with their independence. Sam is hardly ever home and when he is he's studying. My husband has been working overtime, oh the bills racked up by those sleezy agents that dropped by a few years back. Tearing up all my garden and breaking things… ugh! It was horrible. Well let me know if you need anything honey, lunch'll be done in thirty minutes."

All the while Diana was just smiling politely, as soon as Judi was downstairs she slammed the door shut. She turned around pressing her back against the door as if the boogie monster was on the other side, "Goodness! Does that woman breath?!"

The boombox on the bed only snickered a response.

OOO

The Witwicky's weren't as bad as Diana was initial thinking. Judi was just starved for a little conversation in her own home, Carl was a tired but strong willed individual with a twist of humor for everything about life and Sam seemed like any college student Diana had ever met. Inquisitive and a little shy at first but a warm young man at heart. Diana's keen eye for difference saw that Sam showed signs of being deeply affected by some great event that had happened in his life. She made a mental note to ask him the details of the Final Battle later.

"So how long will you be staying Diana?" Judi asked while they washed dishes.

She shrugged, "Um, what did Sam tell you?"

"He didn't say anything, just said that you needed a place to stay. He mentioned getting away from some problems." Judi was careful not to ask what despite how much she wanted to know.

"Well, I think for the rest of Thanksgiving vacation."

"Oh perfect! I'm planning a big family gathering and Makaela's coming over as well…" Diana only half listened since she was looking over her shoulder at Stalker who apparently had grown bored with staying upstairs. He seemed to be approaching something with careful, quiet steps.

Diana blinked and the next thing she knew was the howl of surprise from an ankle biter called Mojo. The chauaua(sp) snarled and chased after the Autobot who only sneered in triumph as he made his escape.

"Carl! Quiet Mojo down will you!" Judi yelled without looking behind her to Diana's relief.

"Hey guys! It's snowing!" Sam called.

Indeed, when the women looked up heavy sheets of thick snowflakes were falling silently. Diana couldn't help but smile stupidly, she absolutely adored snow. Suddenly she wondered if Stalker had ever seen snow.

_Probably… he's been to a hundred planets… surely one of them had snow. Then again… I wonder if he sees it as beautiful the way most humans do._ She frowned and scrubbed the last of the plates.

Stalker jumped on top of an old piano in the living room so he could get a better look at the flakes. It was nothing impressive, it was only falling ice. But it held a certain… mystic. The 'Bot made a shuddering sound, equivalent to a sigh. He recalled patches of the past few months, most of them with Diana. As far as being with his partner Shadow…

_Don't push yourself. Time, give yourself time to heal. Doctor's orders._

Footsteps interrupted his fretting and he quickly transformed.

OOO

Taking advantage of the bad weather, the F-22 Decepticon Thundercracker followed the little tidbit the runt Frenzy had left. He cackled in triumph when he found the unmarked Cybertronian. He kept his distance however, deciding it was best to stoke out her intentions first. A boring task but it had saved his six several times before. The alien plane checked left and made a wide birth. The wind resistance from the snow storm would've daunted an experienced pilot but not him. It was child's play.

The Transformer below didn't seem to be doing anything of real interest. She was just sitting on a cliff just outside of eyesight of humans crossing what was called Hoover Dam.

_A pretty little thing like that naught to sit alone._ The Decepticon was about to pull down into the canyon when a small energy reading caught his attention. Too small in spectrum strength to be a spark, yet too advanced to be human made.

Zooming in he managed to catch sight of a hovering drone exiting one of the dam's supposedly sealed off entrances. Its frame was similar to that of Sparkle.

The drone stopped in front of the unmarked one and settled in her hand. She brought it up to eye level taking in all the information it had gathered, nodding occasionally at something she considered good. Thundercracker watched as the Transformer reattached her accessory and took on a jet form.

_Screeeeeee!_

"Agh!" the plane tipped into a dangerous freefall as all his sensors suddenly went haywire, "Frag jamming signals!" the 'Con growled. When his sensors finally cleared up, Sparkle had vanished.

OOO

**Hmm seems like an appropriate place to stop for now.**

**Please leave reviews! And thanks in advance for them!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Oh wow lookie despite my horrible week I managed to pull off two chaps… I'm happy.**

**The piano song I'm picturing in this chapter is called "Nothing Else Matters" the artists are J. Hetfield and L. Ulrich. The album this is from is called Pianotorium by Scott D. Davis.**

**Changed content rating for this chapter just to be safe.**

**Chapter 8:**

"… _and what happened after that?" _

"_Optimus ordered me to destroy the Allspark."_

"_And you did?"_

"_I didn't have a choice." Said Sam as he sipped his hot cocoa, his eyes strayed in the direction of Bumblebee who'd returned not long ago along with Arcee, both shared the garage not liking the cold._

_Diana felt numb inside… she just walked away from Sam._

Music filled the souls and sparks of the Witwitcky residence.

The house was oddly still as the young lady's fingers pounced on the old piano that only Judi used. She had no music sheets in front of her, the song was played from the memory of her body. Much like her ability to fight, despite having left her martial arts training years ago the repetition had made the techniques natural to her body.

Outside the snow continued to fall, reflecting the light from the street into the dark living room. Diana played almost as well as those blind prodigies that most people saw on TV. That's how she liked to practice, eliminating all visual stimuli so that there was nothing but the music, not even herself.

Stalker walked slowly into the living room. The human's body had a strange reading to them…

Her body was producing pheromones similar to anger, fear, hate and hope. But that wasn't what interested Stalker, it was the brain activity he saw. His scans were no where near as detailed as a 'Bot like Ratchet's was, but they were advanced enough to see that Diana's brain was active in areas it shouldn't be for their chain of evolution. The more she struck the keys on the slightly off tune piano, the stronger the brain activity became. He knew music was a sort of stimuli for humans but since his race didn't understand why the humans loved it so… it was an anomaly that intrigued all of them.

Despite the pianos' under usage the song Diana played still aired beautifully. She started playing harder and faster her brain activity spiking to beyond normal parameters.

Stalker wasn't sure of what to do so he spoke up, "Diana?"

She didn't seem to hear him, her eyes fixed on nothing in front of her.

The 'Bot trotted forward and nudged his friend, she didn't even respond to that so finally he just pulled one of her arms away from the piano. Instantly the music stopped, the sudden silence as defining as if a plasma charged had been set off. Diana blinked then took a deep breath in, she hadn't realized she hadn't been breathing.

"Diana!"

Slowly, she looked at the 'Bot not saying a word. The dimness of the room gave the illusion that the whites of her eyes had turned black, giving great contrast to her fair skin.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Her voice was oddly lucid.

"You're upset." Both looked up to where Sam was leaning against the wall, "About the Allspark right?"

Diana's face remained unchanged, "Aren't you?"

"Sometimes, but then I sit back and think that they won't die anytime soon. At least they have peace in their last days." Sam went to place a comforting hand on Diana's shoulder but she shrugged him off and turned away, one hand gripping Stalker's thin arm.

"I hate him."

"Who?" Stalker asked.

"Optimus Prime for even thinking of such a horrible thing, and I think you're stupid Samuel Witwitcky for not finding another way to save the Allspark."

There was a long silence in which the snow stopped falling.

"I know you care a lot for your friend, the same way I care a lot for Bumblebee and the others. But please try and understand that at the time I didn't have any other choice and please don't hate Optimus for what he told me to do, he only wanted the fighting to stop." With that Sam walked away.

For a long time Diana sat there with her chin propped in her hand staring out the window at the freshly blanketed landscape. A little unsure of how to react, Stalker just remained beside her. Hoping his presence would calm her down. The angry adrenaline that radiated off her warm pulsing body almost overwhelmed his sensors.

_At least her brain activity is back to normal… I think._ Stalker made a mental note to ask Bumblebee more about human behavior and Ratchet about the brain. He felt a bit angry himself, actually it was more like fear from the lack of future his race had. There would be no more sparkings, no more looking to the future with hope. Now all they had each other and their new friends.

There will be those that hate… Stalker thought with a hint of sadness. The attack on him was evidence that there were still those that wished only chaos and pain. There was nothing left to fight for… why couldn't the Decepticons just let go and live a little before their race fell into utter silence? Stalker decided then and there that he would not hold a grudge against Optimus Prime and Samuel Witwicky. He looked up at his partner and… although he wasn't sure why… embraced her from behind and laid his head on her shoulder.

Diana started to cry.

OOO

Morning's bliss was rudely interrupted by Judi knocking on Diana's door, "Sweetie! It's almost time for breakfast!"

"Mmm…" Diana mumbled back. W_hat is poking me?_

She sluggishly tried to sit up but failed pathetically. Her spent emotions were a dull throbbing memory of the last night. Diana rolled over and realized with a bit of surprise that the source of the poking was Stalker. He'd gone into stasis next to her.

Diana crawled around the 'Bot hoping not to wake him. She dumped her blanket on him although she wasn't sure if he needed it.

Sighing heavily Diana went to her bathroom and proceeded with her morning grooming. The mirror revealed the ugly redness of her eyes from all the crying she'd done. Diana nodded at herself, feeling much improved this morning.

_Well I still hate Optimus Prime but I feel better._

Quickly she dressed into fleece lined black and white cargo pants and a purple turtle neck sweater before flying downstairs feeling awfully hungry.

Almost immediately the runaway knew why Judi was so starved for attention. Carl went to work early in the mornings and usually came home late with only two days off in the week. Sam (to her relief) had morning classes most days and besides homework juggled a job.

"Oh, Sam let his friends drive his car again so he has no gas. He had to walk to the bus stop before you got up. I keep telling him he needs to stop that, it's his car he needs to drive it. Oh by the way Diana what a lovely motorcycle you have-."

Diana choked on the bacon she was chewing, "Huh?"

Judi continued her rant without skipping a beat, "I asked Sam why I hadn't seen it earlier and he told me you just forgot it in the alleyway and he brought it in. Wasn't that sweet? Anyways…"

"Right."Diana just kept her mouth shut and let the woman go. Sometimes you could become a good friend without even saying a word. Plus she thought that if she did open her mouth something not so nice would come out.

It wasn't till late that afternoon that Stalker made an appearance. Diana only knew this because in the middle of teaching Judi some new chords on the piano they heard Mojo barking up a fit all across the length of the house. There was a yelp at the same time a door slammed. Stalker had shut the garage door in the poor dog's face.

_Stupid stupid organic… how many times must he fail to see?_ Stalker thought triumphantly. The attachment walked on two legs to the other Autobots. They didn't greet him.

Curious, Stalker tapped Bumblebee's hood.

The scout jerked backwards a turn moaning, "Knnnock off the r-racket…" he mumbled.

"Shut uuup Bee, you're making mah h-headache worse." Arcee growled, acid dripping from her words.

Stalker's ears pricked forward in amusement.

"Shuuut uup yer sellf Arrceee. You're juzt mad that I won." Bee's vocal processors were sorely glitching.

The motorcycle shuddered, whirred for a moment then gave up on trying to transform, "Ratchet forced you… to cough up tha' last one ssso eet doezn' count."

Stalker laughed, "Have fun you two?"

"Shut the slag up." Both responded bitterly.

The 'Bot clapped his thin hands together making the two shudder from the sharp noise, "Bravo you two for consuming too much High Grade Energon. Makes me wonder how you got home without causing a scene."

"Very carefully." Bee muttered.

"So I take it this is a bad time to ask you a question."

"Yyyesss!"

"I'll ask anyway."

Bee groaned, Arcee just tipped over with a resounding _crash_!

Recounting the previous nights events, Stalker described in detail what he'd recorded happening with Diana. At first Bee didn't answer and Stalker though the scout was just in too foul a mood to respond, but like with all his race his patience was long and eventually was rewarded.

"It's… llike when I came back when you two f-first arrived." Bumblebee's processors were aching with dullness. It was going to be another six hours before he sobered up enough to be able to drive straight.

"I wuz talkin' to ssSparkle and the fem's brainz activvity wennt up ab-abnormally while sh-she slept."

"Interestiinn little squishy ain't she?" Arcee mumbled.

"Definitely a human of many talents, well I shall leave you two to your grumblings."

"You do that…"

Stalker made a quick dash for the upstairs so that Judi wouldn't see him. The family's pet was no where to be found and he didn't feel like finding the dog to scare it again.

In the guest room Diana was sitting on her bed with writing something on a barrowed notebook.

"Tired of hearing her voice?"

"Yeah, but she's not bad. Just lonely."

Stalker jumped onto the bed and sat against the wall with her, "What's that?"

"Just a one way letter I'm writing to my family. I figure snail mail is the best way to contact them, there's no way to trace a letter if it doesn't have a return address." She continued to scribble down words while she spoke, "It's the least I can do for them, letting them know I'm in good hands and all."

"I can imagine the relief and anger they will express." Stalker abruptly felt this overwhelming urge to hack something because he was extremely bored. He fought the urge by slamming his head against the window pane.

"You nerd face! What was that for?" Diana laughed.

"Works for you… I don't see why it can't for me." Stalker's ears were ringing.

"Dude what if it doesn't help?!"

"My head protection is better than yours. So there."

This time Diana didn't argue, just rolled her eyes and continued writing.

A glance told Stalker that the girl spoke very coyly in the letter, careful of how she described her alien friends with no hint of anything extraterrestrial about them.

"I had a weird dream last night…"

"Enlighten me."

"I had a two second dream that I was sliding down this broken piece of road and jumping into Optimus Prime's hand, he was saving me from something but I can't remember what." She frowned, "That's annoying, the Autobot I hate is saving me in my dreams."

"Well… he did save you from Megatron's destructive whims indirectly."

She broke her pencil led, "Yeah he did… but that doesn't stop me from hating him about the Allspark."

_You're being selfish Megadork!_ Diana set her pencil down before she broke it in half. There was so much going on in her head right now. She glanced outside then at Stalker, "Hey, have you ever had a snowball fight?"

Stalker looked up the definition and cocked his head, "No I have not but I bet I would win."

"What's your stake?"

"I bet your hate."

"Ahhh interesting wager, well…" Diana thought a moment, "I bet a trip to the mall with you."

"…Alright."

"You're on."

They shook on it.

O

Optimus Prime was concerned for his companion Ratchet when the medical officer hadn't responded to his communication. The colorful semi drove carefully through the slushy streets to the empty underground parking lot they used for storage. The government had been kind enough to offer places where they could be themselves all over the country. Optimus transformed as soon as the doors shut behind him.

Immediately he noticed there were several blast marks on the walls and pillars, but they were ineffective against the brittle concrete.

_Blanks?_

The events became clear to Optimus when he came across a few scrap heaps of broken practice drones. Eventually he came upon Ratchet who was sitting next to a giant size table with his head resting against its surface. There were empty cases of High Grade Energon everywhere, a sure sign a party had gone on behind Optimus' back.

Optimus prodded the doctor, "How unusual my old friend, usually you don't participate in these events with the younger ones."

Ratchet replied a nasty remark in Cybertronian while covering his head with both arms. A moment later he grumbled in English, "I didn't. I watched thoz two pllayy a game a' Hit er Miss."

"What happened then?"

Ratchet moaned before trying to recall exactly what had happened. His neural processors ached as he did so.

OOO

"_Did I ever tell you how you're my favorite doctor Ratchet?" Arcee crooned when Ratchet came back with a box of High Grade he'd made not too long ago._

"_Put a stopper in it Arcee, we all know you'll suck up to anyone if there's a possibility of a drinking game involved." Ratchet punched in the code to open the container and pulled out a few glowing cubes._

"_Awww! Don't be so mean! I just like to have a little fun that's all!" Arcee snatched up the cube offered to her. Being that it was High Grade they took in only half increments at a time._

"_Got any practice drones?" she asked._

"_They're in here!" a few moments after Bee announced this ten hovering spheres went flying past the Transformers._

"_Their speed is set to the highest right?"_

"_Of course." Bee brought out his cannon now refitted with blanks, "So… remind me how this game goes?"_

_Now the bartender/'Bot sitter, Ratchet offered up the rules, "'Hit and miss', the object of the exercise… er game is have as many shots as possible and still be standing. If you hit a drone you don't intake, if you miss you intake, if you hit and destroy the drone you have to take in two shots. Understand?"_

"_Understood!" Bumblebee smirked down at his black and pink friend, "Ready to be utterly dominated?"_

"_Are you?" _

_They clinked together cubes then wrapped their elbow joints around each other's and took the first shot at the same time. Almost immediately the effects of beset sensors caused the 'Bots to shudder in response._

_Arcee was up first._

_She took aim and fired. Her targeting system was slightly off because of the first drink but her shot ricocheted off the front of one. The drones changed formation quickly._

_Bee fired and missed. _

"_Ha!" she prodded Bee who obligingly inserted an Energon shot into his system. Ratchet hid a chuckle when the lightweight almost tipped over. When Arcee stepped forward for her turn Bee waited till he could sense her round warming up and fondly tapped her aft causing her to fire up at the ceiling as she wheeled around angrily._

"_Ha-ha-ha!" Bumblebee snickered sarcastically. _

"_Hmph." She took in a shot. Her sensors were buzzing with confusion now, the overload of energy starting to take bigger consequences._

_In between handing out more cubes full of High Grade and discerning whether or not they'd had enough, Ratchet found himself remembering the times before the war. He recalled the celebrations they'd have after another building accomplishment. Not a thought of power or aggression. It had been so beautiful. The towering silos that glowed in the dark reaches of space, the sparklings running about, learning the ways of living._

_A loud crash broke Ratchet's thought stream and he turned to see that the two had forgotten about the game and were chasing each other around. _

_Bee was rubbing his head from where he'd smashed into a support beam muttering something along the lines of, "Who put this slaggin' thing here?"_

"_Hello?" _

_All of them looked up to see Sparkle. She shuddered, causing all the ice that had collected on her armor to fall away._

_Arcee bopped Bee on the head._

"_Sssspaaarklle!" the yellow camaro whined as he scrambled away from the fembot and hid behind the Cybertronian. His optics were glowing with drunkenness, "Arceez h-hittin' me!"_

"'_Cuz yer a w-wimp! We ain't done with th' game nnow get back here!"_

"_I should just flush your systems right now you two, you started the party without all the guests here." Ratchet snorted._

"_No thanks!" the two stumbled away from the neon yellow 'Bot to finish their game. They had three drones left and so far… they had no clue who was winning. Sparkle sat across from Ratchet seeming to be content with just watching her friends. _

_Second to None went blaring through Bee's speakers when he thought he hit a drone. The drone had moved at the last second._

"_Ouch! Bee wha's your fetish with my aft?!" Arcee growled._

_O_

"_Care for a game Officer Ratchet?" Sparkle asked as she watched Bumblebee squirm in pain while Ratchet pulled his hand out from underneath his opened armor. _

"_No thank you Sparkle." The medic had had to force some the excess Energon out of the scout so that he wouldn't overload. Overloading was like getting alcohol poisoning to a human. Except instead of dying the Transformer would just go on a confused rampage until the Energon was spent._

"_Not even for my little secret technique of rejuvenating Stalker?" She smiled when the Officer looked up immediately from his ward, "I had a feeling you'd want to ask me about that when they told me you wanted to speak. So… I thought I'd make your trek for knowledge a bit interesting."_

"_Oh?" Ratchet's attention was fully netted._

_Sparkle nodded and went to grab a few High Grades, "After you've finished with Bee and Arcee I'll show you how to play this game I know. If I pass out before those two did… I'll tell you my secret technique. Spark's Promise." She added._

_Incoherent at the moment, Bee and Arcee just lay where Ratchet left them. _

_The 'Bot sat back in his seat, "So, Sparkle how does this intake game of yours go." He resisted the urge to brag he won these games over Ironhide who could take in five times the amount than the conked out soldiers behind him._

_With slow and delicate movements Sparkle laid out the cubes in front of them, "Oh it's very simple. This game is of human origin actually. I just put an interesting twist to it for_ us_."_

_Ratchet smiled, "The suspense is killing me."_

"_Well, humans call it Truth or Dare. I call it 'Truth, Dare or Shoot.'" Sparkle couldn't help but still think of how silly that sounded but the Officer bought it, "So, one of us picks the option of truth or dare, if the other doesn't want to do or tell they can take the option of intaking. Every turn you have to intake and you're allowed to dare someone to take more shots."_

"_Ah, a social game rather than skill based. I like that." They clinked together their cubes, interlinking their elbows and took in the Energon. The flow of power almost surprised Ratchet since he hadn't taken in this level of Grade in such a long time. He kept his calm façade though._

"_You first, Officer."_

"_My pleasure, Truth." He took a second shot, "Is it true, that you never joined either faction?"_

"_True." She took in a shot, "I pick Dare."_

"_Alright."_ This should be amusing, _Ratchet thanked Primus it was only him and Sparkle._

"_I dare you to break dance."_

_Ratchet almost dropped his cube he was opening, "W-what?"_

"_Break dance." Sparkle's mischievous grin was unbearably persuasive. _

_For a moment Ratchet considered just shooting, but reluctantly decided to humor his guest. Standing slowly to maintain his balance (perhaps the High Grade was a stronger batch than normal?), Ratchet backed away so that he would have room. Break dancing, a very acrobatic form of exercise the humans did… this sort of thing would be done much easier by someone like Jazz because he was small and agile._

"_How long does the dance have to be?"_

_Sparkle giggled, "Oh I'll be nice and say however long you want it to be."_

_Ratchet picked a song and a routine from the Internet, he suddenly felt very self conscious when he started bouncing to the beat then began the routine. He only did fifteen seconds of it, because very quickly he was already spinning on his head and crashing on his side._

"_Ok… that's enough."_

_Sparkle was laughing hysterics._

_Ratchet was offered his turn's shot and he took it. Already his sensors were dulled, had his mind not been distracted he would've noticed that the Energon cubes would glow brighter than normal when Sparkle touched them._

"_Dare." He wanted to cure his pride._

"_Shoot." She drank two just to save them time, "Truth. Is it true that there is a fragment left behind from the destruction of the Allspark?"_

"_True." Intake, "My turn."_

_They went back and forth with Truth a few more times although Ratchet did manage to get Sparkle to pretend to sing a human song called "Lucky". The room was starting to tilt sideways to Ratchet, for Sparkle she'd just giggle a lot, especially when she sat down after the song._

"_I'mm gonna have to make sure to meazure more carefully next timmme." Ratchet's head was heavy, his coordination wasn't as sharp as it had been ten or fifteen shots ago and he knocked several cubes off the table when he reached for a new one, "No wonnnder those t-two are conked out so sthoon."_

"_Ah ya lightweight." Sparkle found the more she aimed for his pride especially since he was drunk on power the more willing he was to do what she wanted to redeem himself, usually most 'Bots were anyway._

_As she predicted, Ratchet straightened up in defiance, "Who's turn wuz it?"_

"_Mine." Sparkle drank, "I dare you to reveal the bypass code into Hoover Dam."_

_Ratchet took a shot out of turn and leaned over the table gently caressing Sparkle's faceplate, "Normmally that stuffs classifiied sweetie but sincz yer so slaggin' cute I'll give you the code free uf Prime's permission." Sparkle almost didn't notice she'd received the transfer of information because she'd never been complimented like that before. The Transformer felt sorry for deceiving the medic._

It's for them._ She reminded herself._

_Ratchet was drunk but Sparkle took his compliment to heart. She smiled when Ratchet started playing, "Y__ou're the inspiration."_

"_Ya know… I dun know what it iz about ya Sparkle… " Ratchet tipped another shot, "but evar since that in-incedant with th' pod I have a feelin' we'll get along nicely."_

"_Indeed." Sparkle stood with no indication that she was drunk on the Energon. She went over to Ratchet and pulled away the cube Ratchet was about to drink from. His head followed the cube and Sparkle tried to pull it upward out of his reach without spilling the energy source. _

_CRASH!_

_The upward motion had caused Ratchet to lean too far forward and slide off the chair. _

"_Oops… sorry." Sparkle giggled. She left the good doctor where he was as she packed away the unopened High Grade Energon cubes before going to see how Ratchet was doing. _He's a very tolerant entity_, she mused. His optics were dilating and shrinking constantly, he was twitching now and then, his systems trying to get rid of the unneeded energy._

"_That was fun, we should do it again some other time." Sparkle smiled from where she knelt beside him._

"_Next time… I pick the game…"_

_She laughed, "It's only fair."_

O

"…"

"Ratchet?" Optimus probed his friend.

He lifted his head too fast and just as quickly put it down again, "I can't remember most of what happened! All I really remember was she served mosst of the shots and I kept thinkin' she wuz so fraggin' appealing to be arround. I hope I didn' say or do anythin' stupid." His sensors were screaming in agony. Ratchet felt around without looking and finally managed to grab one of the empty cubes before he knocked it off the table. One of his trained eyes stared into some left over contents, however his scanners refused to work properly and he couldn't focus hard enough to analyze it.

Optimus suddenly had a cube shoved up at his face and he took it without question.

"If this is High Grade… you must've done something to make it even better Ratchet. It's almost as powerful as the Allspark's."

"Make sure to remind me NOT to make it that strong for pleasurable experiences again." Ratchet growled.

"I hate to say it Ratchet, but as the humans would say you were 'pawned'. Or was it 'pwned'?" Optimus found the slang frustrating at times.

**OOO**

**Ahahaha! I had so much fun with this chapter. Actually the dream part with Diana is based on my own experience. While on the 15 hour bus ride home I decided I hated Optimus. Then I had a dream he saved me I was like: Frak! Stop it! And then another night he saved me in my dream again. So now I don't hate him anymore. Pshh! Pwned by a dream can you imagine that? Well to rant on my first dream of Transformers was me going to see Transformers 2, but it ended up that I was friends of the Transformers themselves. And then Ratchet saved me from this evil guy that wanted to do unspeakable things to me.**

… **I'm weird ain't I? Mwahahaha! Well I'm weird and lovin' it!**

**Please leave a review before you click the 'x' button! Thank you in advance! **


	9. Chapter 9

**You know when you take your jump drive and put it in another computer? Well… I had to retype this entire chapter because the information got screwed up. Frak! Well… that's what independent study classes are for mwahahaha! **

**Wah! My snowball fight in this isn't as cool as I wanted it to be! But my shoulder is going numb… I can't type anymore (yes I typed this chapter backwards).**

**Chapter 9:**

Cautiously Diana sidled along the wall, every movement was a spy, every movement a betrayer. Her fingers were pink with numbness from holding the hard packed snow ball.

Stalker must've seen her breath before she looked because the next thing she knew she'd been hit squarely on the head

"Ouch! You nerd face!" Diana ducked and rolled from behind the wall and tossed her ammo at the Autobot.

Stalker dodged it easily, "Don't be sad, I'm only better at everything." He ducked his head just in time to dodge another ball. He sent another flurry of snowballs at the human, forcing her to duck for cover behind Mojo's Penthouse.

It was true, Stalker _was_ physically better than her. But only in comparison of races. She glanced over at the Autobot as he dived behind a pile of snow to gather up more ammo. Her gaze strayed to the rooftop. Looking at the snow, she suddenly had a marvelous brain child!

This could work, she just needed to be as fast and accurate as possible. She scooped up the snow at her feet and started packing it together.

"I wouldn't get cocky if I were you knuckle head, wasn't it Optimus who said there's more to us than meets the eye?" she leaped out pf her hiding place and threw her first ball straight for Stalker and almost at the same time threw the other one for the roof. Stalker was so busy concentrating on her advancement that he didn't hear the sound of sliding snow. The 'Bot beeped in surprise when he was covered in a few feet of snow. He heard Diana laughing her head off as he tried to dig out of the ice.

A movement from the house caught Diana's eye and she realized Judi was about to stick her head outside.

When the adult stepped out into the cold she found her guest sitting on a pile of snow, "Would you like some hot cocoa, honey? You've been out playing for more than an hour."

Diana smiled as pleasantly as she could having a very pokey Autobot wriggling underneath your butt, "Yes, please." Judi stepped back inside, Diana started to stand.

"Oh!"

Diana sat back down heavily. Beep!

"I almost forgot, did you want marshmallows with it?"

"Yes!" _Damn it woman my butt hurts!_

As soon as the door clicked closed Diana yelped in surprise when she was tossed off by her partner.

"Ha! You owe me a date to the mall." Diana only now realized how soaking wet she was.

The snowflakes in the organic's black hair reminded Stalker of the night sky, "What?! I never submitted!"

"You were totally owned just now, what if that had been a ton of rocks falling on your head just now! Admit it!"

"But-!"

"No!"

The 'Bot growled, "Fine!" he kicked snow at her, "Be that way!"

Diana stood up straight and smiled, satisfied with her victory she opened her arms so that he could transform for her to carry inside. He shook his head and told her he wanted to do one more thing while outside. Diana frowned, wondering if she'd hurt his feelings.

_Well whatever, pride goeth before the fall_. Diana hurried inside, eager to take a hot shower and drink her cocoa.

O

Maliciously Frenzy shook off the ice collecting on his joints. Stupid mud ball of a planet! It wasn't cold enough to be a bother him it was just the ice. Outer space, now _that_ was something cold. But it was more tolerable because water wasn't constantly clinging to your aft.

The attachment's search had been… a little less than productive. He spit silent curses at his vanished partner. It wasn't that Frenzy wasn't capable of tracking, it was that his alt mode wasn't exactly meant for travel. Several times he'd transformed and a passerby had picked him up and tried to take him home. It was a very bothersome nuisance.

Frenzy stopped in an alley and took note of his position. He was near the Witwicky residence. How perfect was that? He could see if his target was there and maybe even that little flee that had tackled him at the warehouse.

Eagerly Frenzy trekked across the street, he missed seeing the black ice and slid the rest of the way. The 'Con smacked into a telephone poll but shook off the impact.

He approached the home masking his signature. There were four units, two Autobots in the garage and two humans. Where was the third? Frenzy's vision switched to all the different type of scans he had in his arsenal but he couldn't detect the Autobot.

"_Slag!"_ Frenzy's spark boiled with anger, the thought of a better attachment, an _Autobot_ attachment at that, absolutely infuriated him.

"Why are you trying to offline me?"

Frenzy whipped around firing three blades and missed.

Stalker circled the 'Con, "Why?"

"_You're an Autobot and I'm a Decepticon! Is there any other explanation?"_ the lighter colored entity pulled out his guns, all four eyes trained on Stalker.

"That's a very childish excuse." Stalker held up his hands indicating a ceasefire. Frenzy lowered his weapons but didn't put them away.

"Enlighten me, why exactly do _you _want to kill me." He was careful of what words he emphasized.

"…"

"I thought so." He looked at the house then back at Frenzy, "You should come inside and dry off, ice isn't good for the joints."

Frenzy lifted his guns at this, "N-not in y-your lifetime A-Autobot!"

Stalker shrugged, "Ok, but my invitation stands if you're ever back in the neighborhood." Suddenly his sleek dark frame shimmered and he vanished completely. If Frenzy had had a mouth it would've unhinged and dropped to the ground. Snow crunched and the 'Con saw footsteps appear in the snow as the 'Bot trotted back into the house. He heard the scrambling of claws against the house boards and the window on the second floor shut.

_Beep beep!_

A cop cruiser pulled up next to where Frenzy stood in plain sight and opened its passenger door.

"W-where the slag h-hhave you been?" Frenzy asked as he jumped into the front seat.

"None of your slaggin' business." Barricade growled, "Hmph, while you were running on silence Starscream told me to relay your new mission."

"What?! I haven't even f-finished the one I-I'm on now!" the attachment transformed into a radio that latched onto the dashboard.

"Your services are needed elsewhere, don't worry he's sending Thundercracker to hurry up and finish the job." Barricade snorted in annoyance when Frenzy's grip tightened hard enough to pinch him.

"Hey what is your problem?! I came back for you didn't I?!"

"Stalker b-better survive."

"What? Why?"

"_I want to be the one to offline and salvage him."_

Barricade decided not to concern himself with Frenzy's business.

"Am I correct in my scanning that that was a rare fembot in there?"

"_What of it?"_

"The scientist said he needed one to complete one of his experiments"

Frenzy snorted in disgust_, "Why not just use the one he has now?"_

"She's less than cooperative in an experiment unless it gives her more power."

"_Ke, a least it'll be entertaining to watch her squeal in discomfort."_

O

"Well that was smart Stalker…" The 'Bot snickered, the look on Frenzy's face when he'd activated his cloaking device had been priceless. Every Transformer was built uniquely, some with better toys than the other.

While he was wiggling with laughter he had a sudden addictive urge to hack. Hurriedly he went over and whacked his head on the wall.

It was like he'd knocked some stuck memory loose in his thought stream. It was of his partner, Shadow, being totally massacred by a certain Decepticon.

O

Ratchet felt much better by the time evening approached, he vocals weren't glitching anymore and his coordination was close to optimal. He decided he wanted to make a call.

"Ratchet to Sparkle."

There was a long pause before he got a response, "W_hat can I do for you?"_

"Where are you?"

"_Well I'm obviously somewhere, Doctor, and while on that note: I'm __**busy**__." _

"Busy?"

Another pause.

"_Yes, busy."_

"Busy with what?"

"_Since when is a civilian's business the military's concern?" _she snapped.

Ratchet was a little shocked at Sparkle's cold behavior, "I…I'm not calling you as a field medic. I didn't do anything to offend you last night, did I?" he asked worriedly.

"_No no you were a real sweet spark actually, are you always that gentle with the fembots?"_ there it was, that bubbly teasing. Ratchet's spark fluttered warmly with embarrassment. What had he done??

"Offend who?" Ironhide found satisfaction that he'd startled the doctor. He crunched a drone part under his foot, "You guys didn't tell me you were having a party. Slag you're all having fun while I deal with baby spit up!" he growled.

Ratchet waved away the specialist while switching to his inner link, "Go talk to Arcee then, it was her idea I was just the overseer."

"_Ahem. You're alright then?"_

Sparkle laughed, but it wasn't a friendly laugh. It was almost maniacal.

"_I have to go now Ratchet, let me know how Diana is doing ok?"_ the line was cut off before Ratchet could respond.

"Next time give an old friend a head's up when you're going to party." Ironhide kicked aside the mess of drones in annoyance. Ratchet ignored him, too concerned with Sparkle's change in behavior to care about the specialists' whining.

O

Optimus Prime was driving down on of the main city streets on his self proclaimed patrol when suddenly he received a broken up signal. He adjusted for triangulation and realized that it was coming from off planet side.

"This is Optimus Prime, state your situation."

"C…Pr….? This……ny. …re….ed!!"

"Make planet fall soldier, you're signal is breaking up." The voice was very familiar; Arcee had mentioned that her companions had decided to lag behind to study something of interest.

"Copy… pr….all."

A few minutes later two flaming streaks entered the atmosphere both containing an Autobot signature. Speaking of interesting studies, hot on their afts was a third comet and this time it wasn't a friendly.

"_All units, roll out to the following location."_ Optimus sent the coordinates of where the two would eventually land and picked up speed.

O

Stalker paced the length of the room clicking in frustration. It wasn't helping his mood any that he was recounting the event of Shadow being torn into scrap metal over and over. He considered whacking his head again but decided against it. What worked once didn't always work again.

"Frag it!" the attachment went over to the wall and smacked his head against it. That left him with a resounding headache, he clenched his head stumbling around the room. He didn't notice Diana had entered.

"What's wrong Stalker? I can hear you pacing from the stairs."

Stalker hissed, clicked and warbled mechanical screeches most of which her human ears couldn't detect anyway.

"No hablo Cybertronian."

"It… it's the Decepticon… I just can't remember his name though! Slag!" the name was on the tip of his vocals but his memories were just too fragmented. He ignored the pain shooting through his CPU.

Diana watched him pace the room till she was dizzy, "Stalker you need to calm down… you know Ratchet said not to push your recovery." She made a grab for him but he shrugged her off.

"No no no no! It's important! I need to tell Optimus Prime of it n-!" Stalker twitched very hard suddenly, he struggled to stay standing but survival instinct kicked in and he went into emergency stasis mode.

"Stalker? Stalker!"

Diana practically flew down the stairs almost slamming into a wall as she beelined for the garage. She caught Bee and Arcee just about to leave.

"Stop! Stop you guys!" she grabbed Arcee's handles which she didn't take too kindly.

"What's wrong Diana?" Bumblebee asked, worry lining his voice.

"It's Stalker, I think something went terribly wrong with him! He was trying to remember something and suddenly he just conked out!"

"Frag, Bumblebee you go on ahead I'll stay here and get Ratchet." Arcee ignored her still painful hangover, "Well what're you waiting for? Go get him!"

O

"_I'll send you both to Unicron's maw!" a huge menacing multi limbed Decepticon hissed in sheer hatred as he pursued the two Autobots who'd just destroyed half of the needed supplies they'd been gathering for planet fall._

"_Go go go!" the two jettisoned off the satellite that was Earth's moon. The Decepticon leaped after them, bladed limbs aimed for Shadow who had to turn around to defend himself. His plasma rounds didn't make any direct hits and before he knew it the slightly smaller Decepticon was upon him, its bladed appendages piercing his armor as if it was organic flesh. _

_Stalker turned at his friend's wail of pain and shot several blades in a counter attack. All of them were deflected except for one and that created a deep gash where four eyes had been. Shadow took the moment of distraction to escape._

_The 'Con screamed in utter rage and made a dive for the attachment but Shadow was faster. He transformed, folding his partner into his deepest compartment. Energon trailed in his wake, there wasn't a place in his armor that hadn't been pierced._

_Stalker was getting drenched in his partner's fluids, "Shadow! What the frag are you doing?!"_

"_Making planet fall…"_

"_What?! You can't do that!"_

"_It's _you_ who has to inform the commander of what we've found!"_

"_Shadow don't do it!"_

_A second Decepticon had joined the first, she was of a similar exoskeletall type and also much faster than him. She stopped pursuing when she managed to throw the fatally injured opponent off his safe telemetry. _

"_Stalker… my friend…"_

_In his last moments of consciousness Shadow managed to adjust himself to where he wouldn't be falling vertically. He could feel himself being peeled away by the atmosphere's friction._

Primus… send my friend to safety…

"_SHADOW!!"_

_Nothingness… _

_Stalker braced himself for impact._

_O_

_Consciousness was extremely difficult to maintain as Stalker clawed his way out of his partner's remains. The burning wreckage was nothing recognizable to its former glory. Stalker just sat there on the corpse, swaying a little as he tried to absorb the information of recent events. At first he didn't notice the movement above him. _

_Slowly, painfully he lifted his head and saw a life form he'd never encountered before. It jumped in fright when he looked at it and disappeared._

"_W-wait… c-come back!" stumbling off of Shadow, Stalker struggled to climb out of the crater that had been created. He didn't want to be alone, all he cared about was getting away, getting away, that's all he wanted…_

_Several times he slid down a few feet, it was torture just to move his joints let alone scan anything. Pain threatened to overwhelm him with every little movement he made._

_Once at the top he saw the creature was still moving away from him, "D-don't go! Please!"_

_Without warning the multi-limbed Decepticon dropped out of nowhere hissing at him Stalker squealed and fell back off the cliff in sheer terror…_

_O_

"_NOOOO!! Diana!! Shadow! Don't go near it! Get away now!!"_ Stalker warbled many times, flailing around when Ratchet tried to retstain the 'Bot without crushing him.

"What the hell is he saying?!" Diana was pushed back by Arcee to make room for Ratchet who was trying to calm the Autobot down.

"Soldier! You're alright! There's nothing happening! You just passed out from straining yourself d-." Ratchet flinched when the attachment clamped down with all his teeth and claws, "Calm." Ratchet pulled out a glowing rod, "Down!" he thrust one end behind Stalker's neck and the effects were immediate. The rod inserted energy dampeners into Stalker's system, causing the 'Bot to settle down immediately.

The 'Bot twitched a few times, his CPU felt like it was going to explode at any minute. His golden eyes fell on Diana who was partially hidden behind Arcee's sleek frame. Her face was lined with worry.

"I remember…" he looked up at Ratchet with bleary optics, "Relay a message for me…"

**OOO**

**I have to be honest… the part with Shadow made me sniffle a little. Well, I shall see you all in the next chapter! Please leave a review before you click the 'x' button. Thanks in advance!**


	10. Chapter 10

** -tosses cookies out for all- **

**Thank you for the adds from the following:**

**Uchiha Shizuka, ****AnubisDS, ****zagan, ****SolidWil**** and ****demanicangel**

**If I missed someone's name please let me know!**

**) I decided that it was time to step back a little and tell more about how Stalker and Diana met… not going to be long but I think it's good enough for now. The next chapter will be longer.**

**Chapter 10:**

Diana stood next to the open restoration pod that Stalker was sleeping in. The 'Bot's mind was close to overloading with stress, the simple cure at the moment was sleep. The half Filipino adolescent had long since put in her earphones and had tuned out the rest of the world with music. Arcee leaned against a pillar not far away simply watching the girl. Her body was rather calm, which the fembot found surprising. The marksman folded her arms considering what little she knew of human relationships. Diana seemed unfalteringly attached to Stalker despite the squabbles they always had.

"Why are you so different from the others Arcee?"

The question came out of nowhere and Arcee didn't have an answer at first, then she realized that Diana must've grown bored.

"What do you mean different?" she asked.

"You know," Diana pulled one earbud out and looked at the fembot, "you're not…. I guess the word best used is masculine, compared to the others. Kind of like Sparkle, that one is a great deal more feminine and you think differently than the others from what little I've seen of you."

"Well," Arcee tried to find the most accurate translations, "I guess you could call my kind the female of our race. Except now we're kind of useless."

Diana leaned back so that she was looking at the other upside down, "Useless?"

"As fembots we can create more bodies for sparks to live in, but with the Cube gone it would be a waste of resources to do so. We can't create sparks."

"Oh." Diana felt a little loss for words. 'Sorry' was just the stupidest thing to say. It actually was one of her pet peeves, the word 'sorry'. She'd hated it when one of her family members died and everyone kept saying sorry. What did they need to be sorry for? Get over it.

Suddenly Diana frowned, "So… does that make Ratchet a fembot??"

"What?!" Arcee burst into clicks and whirs that simulated laughter, "N-no! No no no! Diana!" the thought of it just made Arcee's spark chamber hurt with humor.

"What I say?"

"Ratchet is blessed with the knowledge and ability to _fix_ us. Not create, uh the simplest I can tell you without getting all scientific is that fembots have the ability as long as they have a Spark Partner to help them. This, gift is only akin to a fembot."

"Oh so it's a from birth thing."

Arcee nodded.

"Cool." Diana lay back down to watch Stalker sleep, "Are there more of you?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"The High Lord Megatron decided he didn't want the fembots to exist. So he ordered our destruction."

"That sucks." Diana said, "Well if there is a bright side to that, you have an almost unlimited choice of guys."

Arcee saw what the human was doing now, just like before she was trying to find something to distract herself with. Diana's curiosity about them wasn't very deep in all actuality; the girl just accepted them for whom and what they were. Just like she accepted that breathing was apart of keeping her life form functioning.

The hard pink and black fembot stepped closer and sat next to the human, "So," Arcee criss crossed her legs, "How did you and Stalker meet exactly?"

Inside the pod, Stalker's ear antenna twitched when he unconsciously heard his partner laugh.

OOO

Pain surged through his broken body with every step Stalker took in the direction the creature had went. His scanners had somewhat recovered but the damage he'd received from the impact and intense heat had fried most of his connections. Most of what he could see was just a blur of white and occasional shades of relaxing color. His mind was completely blank, all he could think about was getting away from the crash site. Somehow his hearing wasn't so permanently damaged but it definitely was glitching. Every few yards what would be a screeching insect one minute would be a blaring cascade of noise the next.

_Just… concentrate, just follow._ Stalker chanted to himself. Why did the creature walk so fast? Couldn't it see that he was of no threat? Or perhaps it had gone to get reinforcements to finish him off? The 'Bot stopped in his tracks at the thought.

Pain hissed through his front shoulders, forcing him to walk on two feet and hunched over farther than usual.

_What do I have to lose?_ He continued to stumble through the foliage.

After what felt like an eternity of leaves catching between his joints and mud caking his trembling legs, Stalker heard a difference in terrain. What he'd stepped on was hard and flat. He strained his eyes though it was painful to see, in front of him was what represented a crude road stretched out before him. Oh how longed for his scanners to be back online, the attachment hadn't realized how reliant he was on them.

He heard instead of saw the creature's movement, he'd been trampling along following it in hope of companionship in an alien world. He let out a robotic whine, stumbling in the direction of the noise.

Compressed sound vibrations answered him back and the next thing the Autobot knew he'd received a solid kick to his spark chamber. If he'd been in pristine condition the blow wouldn't have affected him. He let out a yelp of pain, falling back into the bushes on all fours.

Soft foot steps padded away quickly. The biological was afraid of him.

After a moment of recovery he struggled back onto his feet, frame threatening to break underneath his weight.

O

He counted the time by how many times his hip joint gave out. Every hundred feet his pain would increase ten fold and he'd have to sit and rest. Something cold was hitting him consistently; if his sensors had been online he would've identified the touch as rain.

There… a dull yellow glow in the distance. That had been where the creature had disappeared. His feet clicked on concrete then he tripped on some stairs, almost blind and relying mainly on his hearing. Pain buzzed through his body, threatening to shake him apart. He was tired, his Energon levels must be low and he was still radiating heat despite the rain.

_Click!_

His foot had hit something light and fragile.

Stalker knelt to examine the object first with his sore hands then with his pain ridden scanners. His processors were still functioning thank Primus. The Autobot tossed the object into the rain without aiming and took its place. His body clicked and whirred as metal shifted and hissed. If someone had been watching they would've seen a four foot alien take on the shape of a used CD player box. Once in this alternate form Stalker immediately went into stasis, welcoming the bliss that was sleep.

O

"Mom! Have you seen my CD player?" various objects such as shirts, sweaters and popsicle sticks went flying out of Diana's closet as she searched.

"No, I don't use it so why should I know?" Mrs. Shae called from the kitchen.

"Arrgh! I'm going to be late for the choir rehearsal!" Diana whipped on her boots and grabbed her school bag.

"It's out here sis!" her little brother Danny nearly collided with his sister in her rush to meet him. He held up the box and she took it with hardly a thank you as she dashed out the door.

Taking note of the sudden movements, the Autobot was about to change but his body hurt too much to make the transformation. Plus he had a splitting headache. He heard the sounds, they were a match to the one he'd followed yesterday.

"Late late late late! Shiiioot!" Diana caught herself as she stuffed the player in her bad on the fly.

"Dinner at seven Dia!"

"I know Mom!" Diana called back in exasperation.

Tentatively, Stalker reached out with his sensors and felt a tickle at the edge. Immediately he absorbed as much of the information as he could before the pain made him pass out again.

O

"Ah man! Danny colored on my player again!"

Stalker flinched inside his armor plating that was disguised as what he now knew as a music player. Who ever owned the piece he'd copied set him down hard. He felt its soft spongy fingers press hard against his faction symbol.

"I dunno I think he's getting some talent." Said another voice. With Stalker's limited information he identified the two beings as human females.

"It's too symmetrical for his style…"

"Ah forget about it, you brought the music right?"

More shuffling around stuff, "Yeah right here, the symphonic version."

"Good."

Stalker was surprised when his top was opened and a disk was inserted. He panicked a moment unsure of what to do, it was unbearably painful to look through the information he'd gathered.

"Hey! Don't be a butt face today!" Diana smacked the player.

Stalker wanted to whine but instead shot lasers at the disk and rerouted the information to his speakers. The sound that emanated shook him painfully, they'd turned his bass option up! He twitched in frustration and was about to forcefully transform when his top pop opened.

"Oops! Wrong one."

"Jeez Dia."

"My bad!" the human female said in a high pitched tone, later he'd identify as 'talking innocently'. The collection of sonic information on this disk was much more tolerable. Except his hearing was still glitching and occasionally it would blare despite his efforts to control it.

He tried to ignore the pain of his burned body, focusing on the females who designated themselves as Mari, the light haired one, and Diana, the one he'd followed from the crash site. They were practicing… practicing…. Oh what did they call it… a duel? No, that's not it. Duet! That's it a duet. A musical composition for two voices or instruments. What was an instrument? What was music? Stalker found trying to understand the humans very difficult, his information was incomplete and he was damaged. He needed help right away, perhaps if he could just communicate with them he could get help.

Speaking of help, Stalker decided to help himself by shutting off the music. The vibration it was causing was very irritating. The two females groaned in exasperation.

"Come on! Don't act up now!" Diana smacked the player and when that didn't work she popped open the lid and checked the disk for scratches. She rubbed it on her shirt and placed it back inside. Mari yelped in surprise when the CD was spit back out. Diana, although felt her heart skip a beat, just caught the CD as it came back down instead of freaking out.

"I think it's possessed or something, you've abused it too long."

"Don't waste your breath… I'm going to get this to work!"

Stalker didn't think it wise to spit the disk back out after a second time, even though it hurt to play it, he sensed he was starting to scare them… or at least Mari.

"Ok whatever! We can do this without the symphonics, it's better that we're not reliant on them anyway."

_Thank Primus!_

O

Stalker listened and learned in the times he was conscious sitting in Diana's backpack. Apparently the facility in which his 'owner' was in was called a high school, she was a teenager (or adolescent), a student as well as a performer. She had four groups of friends she made company with through out the day and the majority of her classes were of what was called 'the arts'. It was noisy though, Stalker thought he'd go insane with how much noise these organics were making. Did they ever quiet down?

At last, his owner left the crowded school and went home. She hummed several different songs, most of which Stalker suspected she hummed wrong on purpose.

There was a moment of chaos then a thud and Stalker realized she'd tossed her bad on the floor in what he assumed was her part of the living quarters. He waited till she left before transforming.

That turned out to be a big mistake.

The bag prevented him at first then ripped when his spines touched the thickly woven fabrics the sudden release caused him to sprawl across the floor. He stumbled then knocked something over filled with many unclean woven materials. For a long time he poked around the room, picking up something to examine it as best he could then dropped it in a different place. He didn't know exactly why he was doing this, most of the items he found short of the cell phone weren't even mildly interesting in his veil of pain. In fact he was so absorbed in trying to look up the definition for Tampax that he didn't notice Diana return. She stood there in the doorway, just watching.

"…"

Stalker tossed the object aside having given up. He turned to pick up a book on the floor when he noticed Diana. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

"You stalker!! Get out of my room you zombie alien!" the girl lunged at the Autobot who beeped and tried to escape by diving into her closet.

O

"…and then he tried to hide in my underwear drawer."

Arcee was having giggle fits both human and Cybertronian, she was laying on her side hoping her circuits wouldn't bust, "Poor Stalker! You used and abused him!"

The human laughed as well, now that she looked back on the events they _were_ really silly, "So anyway…"

O

"Perverted decrepit little son of a bitch! I'm goin' to send you back to the scrap heap where you mutated!" Diana hissed while trying to hold the spiny 'Bot still as he thrashed around in her arms. He kept clicking and whirring at her, faceplates tensing in a way that reminded her of someone afraid.

Stalker was franticly searching his limited resources trying to find the right syllables to pronounce. In his damaged state he couldn't hold off the fleshling.

_Good thing I'm the only one home!_ Diana thought as she started to drag the alien kicking and screeching out to the living room.

"ssS-ssStoo-op!" the voice was badly fragmented, but understandable.

The girl glared down at him making him flinch, "So the stalking alien knows English too?"

"Hhhe-eellp m…me?"

For a moment she did nothing but glare at him and he was afraid he'd chosen the wrong words. Suddenly she let go of him and shoved him onto a seating arrangement that sank underneath his thin aft. He looked at her with wide eyes as she loomed over him. Frightened in his vulnerable state, Stalker tried to sink further into the soft cushions.

She placed her hands on her hips, "Enlighten me alien… why would I want to help you?"

Stalker's aching processors raced for a response, "D-daammge…? Ssss-SssSSeerch-king forr oooO….ooOthers!"

She arched one brow, "Damage?" she looked him up and down a little more carefully this time, "And you say you're searching for… for what others?"

He pointed to the symbol on his forehead, "Wee Au…utobots." This vocal thing was painful but becoming easier.

"How am I supposed to trust you, for all I know I've just been infected by some germ you carry." Diana huffed. Stalker only shook his head, not understanding even what a germ really was at the moment. Suddenly the front door opened causing them to look up. When Diana looked back, where an alien had sat now sat her CD player.

O

"Aww that's so cute!" Arcee was laying on her frontside, head resting on both hands.

"I think Stalker would beg to differ. I abused him a lot more before I finally stopped being suspicious of him." Diana said from her place beside the pod then suddenly she giggled at an inner thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Arcee asked.

"I was just remembering how I decorated Stalker for Halloween. It was-."

"A story best not repeated!" Stalker blearily leaned out of the pod resting his head on Diana's shoulder, "You two are the noisiest fem's I've ever encountered, can't a 'Bot get any sleep around here??"

"But story time is absolutely fun! So anyway, what I did for Halloween was-."

"No!" Stalker clamped his thin fingers over his partner's mouth.

Arcee had a look that told him she'd get the dirt later. Maybe it would give her ideas for pulling one on Bumblebee if he misbehaved.

"_Bumblebee to Arcee! Come in!"_

The fembot shot up, _"_This is Arcee."

"_Thank Primus! You need to get out of that bunker right now!"_

"What're you talking about?"

Suddenly the building shook as two explosions rocked the upper floors.

Diana dodged a falling chunk of cement, "What the hell was that?!" she growled.

The fembot transformed, "I just picked up Thundercracker's signal, he's trying to bring this place down on top of our heads!"

**OO**

**Yup, a little bit of story time to pass the time. Reviews are teh love!**

**See you all next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I was thinking about starting a forum just so I can further hear your opinion/suggestions/requests/whatever of this fic. If you'd like I will start one.**

**Chapter 11:**

Sirens wailing as he sped down the highway Ratchet tried to make up for the lost time he'd used while caring for Stalker. Optimus wanted him to be there in case the twins were damaged from the fight they must've been in. If Ratchet wasn't so keen on the message his patient had given him he would've told his commander he'd needed to stay rather than go. It was only the twins.

"_Ratchet to Optimus."_

"_Go ahead Ratchet."_

"_Stalker seems to have jarred his memory enough to give you his message. He told me that the Decepticons have been gathering on the opposite side of Earth's satellite. They've been smuggling in supplies onto Earth for something."_

There was a moment of silence.

"_Anything else he mentioned?"_

"_Shadow and Stalker managed to sabotage half of the latest shipment half a year ago before planet fall. But it wasn't the supplies that were really the problem, it was the leader of the operation."_

"_Starscream?"_

"_He didn't say anything about that coward, this one was Turantula."_

"_Did you just say 'Turantula'?!" _Ironhide jumped in_, "I thought that son of a glitch went down with Tyger Pax!"_

Prime's engine revved, but it was more like a growl, _"This is bad."_

At last Ratchet caught up with the group, "_This is not bad Optimus, it's horrifying! You've seen the dangers that can be concocted by that abomination!" _

Unfortunately Bumblebee didn't share his elder's worry but he trusted their opinions. Whenever they said someone was bad enough to fear he feared them.

"_What did Turantula do at Tyger Pax?" _Bee asked.

"_Something you'd best not know for now, Bumblebee."_ Optimus increased his speed and his fellows followed suit.

O

The twins touched down sending dirt, rocks, flames and stardust pluming every which way on the farmland which they'd chosen to fall. Clicks, hisses and whirs filled the air as the two relinquished their cometary form.

"_Ugh…"_ Sunstreaker whined as he crawled out of the pit he'd created, "_That wasn't fun."_ He glanced down in distain at his scratched gold colored armor.

"_No duh!"_ from the crater barely a hundred yards away a red Cybertronian pulled himself up. He glanced around, scanners brimming with new information, "_Wow…"_ he marveled at their new surroundings.

"_Ratchet better have survived, the patchworks I do aren't as good as his."_

"_What is he a beauty 'Bot to you?" _Sideswipe snorted.

"_No."_ Sunstreaker pulled out two blasters from subspace pockets. His optics were trained on the pursuer still making planet fall.

Flames suddenly spiraled as the Decepticon barrel rolled and transformed into an F-22 fighter plane.

"_Ho slag!"_

Sideswipe tackled his twin back into the pit in which he'd come just in time to be missed by Starscream's missile barrage.

"_This is really starting to annoy me! Come 'ere you slaggin' coward!!"_ Sunstreaker released several plasma shots but the Decepticon nimbly avoided them in his aerial dance of destruction.

"_Look who's the ones hiding in a hole!"_ Starscream flipped around coming in for another round of missiles.

"_Frag my guns are overheating! Of all the times!"_ Sunstreaker growled he looked at his brother who only bore the same result. They both were radiating heat from the friction of the atmosphere, so it would be safe to assume eventually Starscream's weapons would give out. Except eventually wasn't soon enough.

Starscream had a lock on his targets and was about to fire until his wing was struck by a pulse plasma round. Snarling curses, Starscream turned on Ironhide who was grinning on the ground.

"Time to get your wings clipped!" the black armored specialist hissed as he fired again.

Optimus pulled up to the twins, dust flying everywhere in thick clouds, "Sunstreaker! Sideswipe! Find alternate vehicle modes now."

"_Local camouflage?"_

"Now!"

Immediately the gold and crimson Autobots searched the vehicle database and both chose the Dodge Viper SRT-10 each with their respective colors. Ironhide was joined by Ratchet in the attempt to ground Starscream. Even though the numbers weren't exactly fair in this game of war, Starscream's ability to fly gave him an extensive advantage.

An alarm went off, telling the 'Con that his systems needed to cool. They couldn't take the stress he'd placed upon himself. Starscream grunted in annoyance, his inner workings were already vibrating in pain from planet fall.

"_Thundercracker! Have you located the runt yet?"_

Bumblebee caught the encoded signal and immediately began breaking the firewall at full capacity.

"_Well I know _where_ he is, I just need to find out _exactly_ where."_ The other 'Con responded. The plane type alien was circling Tranquility scanning every nook and cranny that could hide a signature.

"_It might be too late to kill him but do so anyway. While you're at it contact Barricade and see if you can't flush out that fem." _Starscream broke from the fight having better things to do than to be sent to the Pit.

"_Haha! Slick! These human's ain't half bad in designing."_ Sunstreaker was still spouting off in Cybertronian. Ratchet kept his distance trying to delay the inevitable. In routine he scanned the twins and found that they'd received a good deal more battle scars since they'd been apart. The damage was internal and it appeared they'd tried to patch themselves up. _Not a half bad job, crude, but effective._ The emergency vehicle thought.

The squealing of Bumblebee's tires interrupted the reunion as the Camaro did a 180 and high tailed it straight back to Tranquility.

"_Bumblebee! Report!"_ Optimus called as he followed, the rest followed with slight confusion.

"_I just decoded Starscream's call, Arcee and the others are in danger! Apparently Thundercracker has been circling the city looking for them!"_ Ratchet took the lead, his sirens causing the human traffic to part so they could travel faster.

OO

Clinging for dear life to Arcee's back as the motorcycle wove through the falling debris, Diana couldn't help but think she was going to be sick after this.

Ahead the doors opened at Arcee's signal but another explosion shattered the pillars above sending cement, tubing and wires cascading down in a thick wall. The fembot growled, revving to top speed. Diana had to close her eyes against the wind resistance.

Thundercracker spotted a pink blur fly out of the dust cloud, _"There you are!"_ he angled toward the earth, _"Hey Arcee! Care to switch factions? It'll make this a lot easier."_

Arcee screeched to a halt, unceremoniously dumped her cargo and transformed, "In your furthest dreams Thundercrack-head!" she aimed but stopped when the plane flew behind a row of buildings.

"_Now that ain't nice!"_ he pouted, _"I'm tryin' to be pleasant, Arcee, 'cause I don't think Barricade will be so gentle."_

Arcee whipped around at the sound of crumbling rocks and fired as Barricade lunged over the rubble. She was forced to dodge roll his blade-like digits. The smaller Transformer evaded the grunt nimbly causing him to yell in frustration.

Stalker pushed Diana back into an alcove, "Stay out of the way!" he ordered before joining the fray. Diana stomped her foot and gritted her teeth, she hated being so useless when it came to the battles. Her blood boiled with the urge to fight. She glanced around trying to spot something of use in the rubble.

Arcee dodged Barricade's swiping claws and released a flurry of shots but only grazed his shoulder. Snarling in annoyance he lunged and managed to smacked the other off her feet. She rolled only to be hit with a shockwave from one of Thundercracker's missiles. For a moment she couldn't move, stunned by the impact.

"Fool! Turantula wants her alive!" Barricade hissed.

"_They're sonic wave missiles! Don't go blaming me for _your_ damage!"_ the other snipped before angling for another turn on the fight. Arcee struggled to orientate herself as the big black and white cruiser stomped over to her.

Before he reached her however the 'Con screeched in agony. Stalker's cloak dropped as he dug his claws into his enemy's helmet. He jumped away when the other reached for him and crawled to the 'Con's back, tearing away at the thick armor trying to reach the spark chamber.

At last coherent Arcee snarled in Cybertronian and fired at Barricade's head, "I'm gonna take that bucket of bolts off this time!"

She expected him to back off but instead he sprinted forward with surprising speed, turned on a dime and smashed his back against her.

"Ugh!" the fembot was pinned against the wall by his massive bulk. Rocks showered down from the crumbling supports, denting and scratching the Transformers up.

Stalker had vanished, whether he'd been squished or had jumped off to escape the impact Barricade didn't care. He reached around and grabbed one of Arcee's arms crushing her cannon in his powerful grip. She grunted in the effort trying to throw him off her but his power was simply greater than hers. Barricade's grinned sadistically when he saw her second canon had been destroyed on impact. He was too close to kick, his closeness frightened Arcee but she refused to give him the satisfaction. She strained her power beyond its limits trying to escape his tight grip. Her struggle seemed to only make Barricade laugh more.

Stalker scrambled across the boulders and launched himself at Barricade's back again.

In mid-flight he was intercepted by Frenzy who clicked in triumph, sending both of them tumbling down the wall of concrete shrieking, shredding and clicking insults.

"Hey! Bucket head! Remember me!"

Barricade had been so distracted with scaring Arcee that by the time he looked up Diana had jumped off the second floor and stabbed him in the shoulder with a glowing rod. Screeching in anger already feeling the energy dampeners' effect, he grabbed the organic and flung her against a pile of rubble.

"Dia!" Stalker cried but couldn't run to his partner's aid for Frenzy had latched on to his back and their grappling match started anew.

Barricade struck Arcee across the face when she tried to stop him, knocking her unconscious, "As you humans would say: 'An eye for an eye'. Except you can't regenerate yours." He growled deeply as he made his way toward the stunned human.

Diana tried to breath, tried to move. The impact had knocked the air out of her lungs and she probably had fractured more than just her arms this time. She rolled over trying to crawl to the other side of the pile she'd landed on. The sound of several blades rubbing together behind caused her heart to jump to her throat. _Well that's just great… I can't out crawl a titan!_ Diana heard a stumble behind her and knew that Ratchet's device was taking effect. She forced herself into a sort of half crawl half run despite the begging her body did to stop for the pain was so great.

Frenzy managed to pin Stalker on the other's back but had to jump away when he released two blades from his chest area. The two flipped to their feet, guns drawn, eyes blazing and spines on end. Slowly they circled each other. They completely ignored Thundercracker when the flying 'Con made a landing near Arcee.

"Chaos is as chaos does." Stalker told the 'Con.

"W-what the frag i-is th-that supposed to mean?" Frenzy snarled. They continued to circle each other, waiting, searching for the right moment to strike.

"What's your ultimate goal Frenzy? Surely you don't want to be serving someone else for the rest of your life, I mean especially with the Allspark gone. Why bother following orders for nothing but death, destruction and mayhem?" Stalker ignored Frenzy's mechanical growl, "Tell me Frenzy: do you want to be seen valuable for only your uses?" Stalker's attention strayed for a second to his friend and Frenzy took the chance to shoot him. The Autobot caught the movement in time and dodged most of the direct hits in time but was forced to retreat further away.

Diana was about to clear the pile's summit when she felt her leg crushed by a giant bladed hand. She screamed in anger and pain as Barricade lifted her up to his face. The cruiser was trembling terribly, threatening to give out at any moment. His hate filled red eyes bore into hers.

"Diana! Let go of me you slaggin' pit spawn!" Arcee landed a powerful kick to Thundercracker's hip when he tried to pick her up, cracking his armor.

"Ouch! Why you little-!"

Suddenly without warning all of the Transformers were enveloped by a scream echoing through their processors. This scream wasn't heard with organic ears, so Diana was quite surprised when Barricade gasped and dropped her. He fell back and held his head trying to block out the scream. It wasn't painful… it was terrible, it was joyful it thundered through their sparks like Primus had reached out and gripped them all.

"_W-what's happening?!"_ Stalker squealed in fright, writhing in ultimate discomfort. He felt like something was wriggling inside his spark and brain, it didn't hurt but at the same time it wasn't supposed to be there.

Thundercracker yelled and took off, flying as fast as he could like he was trying to escape the scream. Barricade followed suit, dragging himself away from the wreckage and transforming barely giving Frenzy time to latch onto his bumper. Stalker whined and fell forward, curling into a tight ball.

Pain pulsed through Diana's body, making everything seem hazy and dreamlike. She lay where Barricade had dropped her, her view of the Autobots upside down. Time passed in both fast forward and slow mo, one minute she was watching them writhe in whatever was causing them distress, and the next people were examining her and putting her on a stretcher.

"S-stalker? Arcee?" Diana croaked, blood and dust clogging her throat.

"You'll be ok honey," the paramedic wiped her forehead with a cool damp cloth, "We're gonna get you to the hospital now ok?" the woman's consoling voice was getting on Diana's nerves. She tried to struggle but pain screamed through her soul and body.

Tears streaked down her face, "Where are they? Where?!" _shit the Autobots were using that place as a storage unit! What if the firefighters find their stuff?_

Nobody told her anything, they just repeated overused phrases of reassurance that only infuriated the young lady even more.

"Where's my friends!" her voice cracked.

"There's no one there, there's nothing." Another paramedic said. Despite being restrained by the neck brace, Diana caught out of the corner of her eye a few men with tell tale dress code features. A pinch caused her to look and see that she was being injected with morphine.

_Ah fuck… this is not good…_ she started to feel light and happy as the drug pushed the concern for pain far into the darkest places of her conscious mind. _I hate drugs…_ she thought as sleep tickled the edges of her mind.

The fire fight had attracted a lot of unwanted attention for the Transformers.

O

Six vehicles entered Tranquility, each calling for their two comrades they'd lost contact with. Bumblebee seemed particularly irritated by the lack of information of their whereabouts. His engine revved loudly as he sped down a side road broadcasting for Arcee and Stalker. Unfortunately it had still taken the group two hours total to get back to Tranquility. It had taken all of their will power to stay coordinated with each other, all they'd wanted to do was run away from… from what? It was such a confusing and frustrating sensation that had beget them. It called but repelled, comforted yet disturbed them. Bee growled in anger.

_Come on come on come on…. _Bumblebee thought while broadcasting. _If you were taken I'll… well I just…_

As he drove, a movement on the side of the road caught his attention. At first he thought it was an organic rodent but then the hunched form stumbled out into the middle of the street. The Camaro slammed on his breaks barely ten feet from Stalker and opened his passenger door. The attachment slid in, his head hanging.

"Where's Arcee?"

The 'Bot blinked and looked up, "I don't know… it was… it was so stupid."

"What?" Bee insisted.

"After… after what happened we… we just ran our own ways. Just run on and on." His chuckle was hallow, "Just like – just like when Shadow died. All I could think about was getting away. This time was no different." His golden eyes harden and his spark flared hot with anger, "Frag! I left Diana! What kind of partner am I?!" Bee flinched when he felt Stalker kick his dash board.

"It… it'll be alright my friend." Bee hoped he sounded more confident than he felt, "It'll be easy to track which hospital she ends up in."

"That's not the point, Bumblebee!" Stalker clicked and growled, clenching his blade like fingers so tight his joints hurt.

"I – I know."

"Well if you know then shut up!" the attachment reached for Bee's door handle, intending to go out and find his friend on his own.

"Wait!"

Stalker stopped and looked up.

Bumblebee wasn't sure, but he thought he'd detected a Transformer's signature somewhere nearby. But whoever it was, was masking their faction signature. The Camaro inched forward slowly. There was movement on a side street as the Transformer revealed itself. Bee's glimmer of hope was utterly snuffed out when he saw it was a blue and yellow Chrysler ME 412 and not a pink and black Buell motorbike.

OO

"With all due respect Commander! We should not allow them to take Diana to the local hospital! She's bound to be questioned and these humans don't know the meaning of healing injuries!" Ratchet's aggravation was contagious. Optimus knew that the girl was on the wanted list for the agents from the many calls he'd intercepted from the agents in the area. But it wasn't like they could just barge into the hospitals and demand to take the girl back into their custody. There was also the facts that they'd lost contact with Arcee perhaps one of the last fembots, Stalker was still yet to be accounted for, the Decepticons were planning something terrible and there was the matter of the call that had enveloped them with chaos. Optimus had a feeling that it wasn't the last time they'd hear it.

The commander's musings were interrupted when his back bumper was shoved.

"Commander!"

"I understand, Ratchet!"

"Um… excuse me?" Sideswipe sounded like a young adult male with the personality he'd chosen, "What's the significance of this human female?"

"Yeah can we be in the loop, sir?" Sunstreaker revved.

Ratchet made a sound that might've been a snort, to a human it was more like a backfire of an engine, "Diana Shae is the human who's risked her life to bring us our comrade Stalker, she wants to continue to help us. But now with her on official records she's bound to attract the governments' attention."

While Ratchet explained the situation to the twins, Optimus busied himself with tracking the origin of the scream. It was difficult, for the resonance had been all over the place creating loop holes.

"Ratchet? What all was stored at Hoover Dam?"

The ambulance blinked his lights a few times as he brought up the list of supplies cross referencing them with locations, "Energon, medical supplies, armaments, various miscellaneous items and of course…"

"…"

The twins pulled forward a few inches, all their interest captured. Despite their inquiries neither of the elder Transformers answered them.

"Why do you ask, sir?"

The flame painted semi pulled back, forcing Ratchet to back up as well to make room, "I just received word that Stalker has been found by Bumblebee. They are going to find and retrieve Diana."

"How? They can't - ."

"They have the reinforcements they need to do this job. For now we will check on Hoover Dam. My research has given me the possibility that that signal might've originated from there." The semi moved on down the street with his three comrades in tow.

"And with Turantula floatin' around he's bound to be curious about the phenomena." Sideswipe said. He and his brother had managed to destroy the shipment of supplies the Decepticons had been managing. So it was most likely that their enemies would be looking for easy replacements.

"I thought you said the war was over, Commander." Sunstreaker moaned.

"The war for the Allspark ended, yes."

"Some 'Cons just can't let go of the chaos they've grown so accustomed to." Ratchet growled. He couldn't fathom why Optimus would suspect the signal's origination was from the dam. There was nothing there that could. Then again, he didn't know anything about it. But he trusted his leader as he had many times before.

**OOO**

**WAAAHH!! I don't know why but I'm just not satisfied with how this chappie turned out! Why am I still posting it you ask? Because I know if I don't my brain will go dead… it's complicated so don't ask.**

**Maybe it's the lack of sleep… note to self: don't write a fanfic chapter on not good sleep quality. Causes lack of creativity. –goes to bed-**

**!!!!ANNOUNCMENT!!!!!**

**Should any of you wish to see conceptual art of Sparkle and Diana, I will be posting it soon on my Deviant Art account (soon as I can filch the laptop to scan them). I believe I have my account on my profile link but if not go to and look up 'Dynnzel'. I haven't designed Stalker yet because… being that he's a lot like Frenzy… and Frenzy's complicated as it is. I'll get back to you on that.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you ****Stesuna the Dragon**** and ****myrmidryad**** for the adds! Did I miss anyone?**

**And thank you for the reviews! They are really inspirational! **

**Oh! –blows a party whistle- I'm really happy! This fic has just about 3000 hits! Thank you all anonymous readers for reading!**

**Well, on with the fic! –marches off wearing a cheesy parade hat- **

**Spell check: Turantula to Turantulas **

**My bad.**

**I must say… this chapter is a bit… odd to me. All the girls are having a rough time for awhile it seems…**

**Chapter 12:**

"Excuse me?"

The nurse behind the oversized desk looked up to see a young man with stylishly messy blonde hair, pale skin and hard green eyes. He wore a red cap turned backwards and a heavy coat.

"Hello, how may I help you today?"

"I'm here to see my friend, she came from the crash sight in the suburbs this afternoon. I don't know if she managed to tell you but her name is Diana Shae."

The nurse replied without looking up any details, "I'm sorry but any victims from that incident are not able to see any visitors at this time."

"Is it because I'm not family?"

"No, that's just what they told me to tell anyone that came. Now move along, you're making a line." She leaned over to acknowledge the one other person waiting for help. The young man clicked his teeth gently in concern as he turned away. The boom box underneath his arm quivered slightly and he patted it, reassuring the 'Bot all would be well. He pulled out an earpiece that looked like a human design but really it was a portable com link to his partner, "They're not letting anyone see her." He said quietly while walking back to the waiting room and stopped off in the bathroom casually.

"_There's so many humans in one place, it's like trying to find a sparrow from outer space!"_ the voice that responded was just as young as the human's albeit with a little hint of cockiness.

"It's a wonder she's not in the hospital's computer." The amused young man chuckled.

"_That would make it too easy!"_

A moment of silence passed and finally the Autobot found what he was looking for, _"Top floor on the right corner of building two. You'll have to cross the sky bridge."_

"Rodger that, keep me informed of where those agents are."

"_No problem."_

"Let's go buddy." He picked up Stalker making sure that his faction symbol was pressed against his side.

Nathan Taylor was his name in the computers, but these days he preferred to be called just plain old Zack.

O

Her head swam with the drugs given to her during her treatment. It didn't help that her eyesight was bad already. Everything was just a bunch of blurred colors. She felt chilly but her head ached with dizziness. Diana tried to sit up but her body refused to listen to her, it felt heavy as iron.

Distant voices.

There were three of them and… only one sounded… no, she decided. It wasn't familiar, it just sounded like someone she never cared to remember. Diana glanced to her left, there were two tall black blurs and one blue. It was difficult to think in her doped up state but she managed to acknowledge after what seemed forever that the two dark blurs were government agents and the blue was a nurse perhaps or a doctor.

Suddenly a cool hand touched her forehead and despite herself she leaned in to it, the chilled flesh feeling extremely refreshing.

Someone was asking a question, there promptly was an answer but Diana didn't care enough to process the sounds. All she knew was that she was in a place she didn't want to be.

The two dark blurs ended the conversation and left the room. The nurse lingered, wiping the sweat from Diana's face and neck with a deliciously cool cloth. Was this nurse leaning over her? No, the blue blur left to go attend other matters.

O

"_Heading down your hall, take the scenic route."_

"That takes too long." Zack complained but obliged and took the next right without skipping a beat in his step. No one gave him a second glance, all the faces the same in the hospital when it came to visitors.

Zack was silent for another ten yards before saying quietly, "This seems a little too lax to have the government's sticky fingers in it."

"_Either that, or they're so full of themselves they don't think they need more than ten agents on this floor."_ Outside circling the Tranquility hospital, the speedy Autobot known as Hotshot idled around the potential escape roots his friend might have to take.

"_Can we please just hurry?"_ Stalker intervened.

"It'll be ok pal, only a few more hallw – op!" Zack veered back the way he'd come when a tired looking agent walked out of a side room. He leaned against the corner he'd hid behind pressing his fingers against his earpiece while glancing around making sure no one was listening, "Hotshot! Are you sure you've got _all_ the agents tracked?"

"_What?!"_ there was a moment of silence, _"The agent should still be in the room!"_

Zack peered beyond the wall carefully. The agent yawned, stretched and popped his back. He pressed his hand against his pocket looking confused. Realizing he'd forgotten something he retreated back into the room he'd come from.

"Never mind, the guy forgot his electronic device." Zack breathed a sigh of relief as he walked swiftly passed the door as soon as it had closed.

They had two more close calls where Hotshot lost track of the agents. It wasn't that he couldn't track organics, but tracking a specific one was a little more difficult when they were all packed together as tightly as in the hospital. Strangely enough, not all of these agents carried a mechanical device. Zack found that odd since the government was only run smoothly on correct and fast intel.

"_Stop Zack! Go back two doors, that should be where Diana is."_

The boom box was whirring now, on the verge of transforming. Zack had to keep a firm hand on the 'Bot so that he wouldn't get too restless. He opened the door and slipped inside. There was no one on the first bed and the curtain was pulled. It smelled of medicine, sickly flesh and sterilization.

Stalker burst out of his alternate form landing with a few clicks on the hard floor. He buzzed with worry as he quickly dived through the curtain followed by Zack.

What lay there brought anger and pity to Stalker's spark.

The usually feisty and bubbly young lady was a mess of gauze where Barricade's digits had cut deeply into her flesh. One leg was in a semi permanent cast and there was a very ugly bruise covering the left side of her face which was also pink with fever from some infection she'd gotten. But it wasn't those wounds that hurt Stalker most, it was the fact that Diana lay with her eyes half open and yet she stared at nothing.

Stalker stopped at the side of the bed, "…Dia?" he said tentatively. She didn't respond.

The attachment clenched his clawed digits, his spark burned with hatred. Hatred for the primitive way these humans were treating his partner, hatred at his lack of discipline to fight the urge to run, hatred for putting Diana in this sorry state. Zack cursed under his breath at the sight, he walked around to the other side and reached out to touch his long time friend.

The human jumped back in fright when teeth clamped down where his hand had been. Stalker snarled at the adolescent, his upper body half covering Diana.

"Whoa! Easy Stalker! I'm her friend just as much as you are! So take a chill pill and pull yourself together." Zack snarled back.

"I…" Stalker slid off the bed, "sorry." He shook his head.

Both tensed when they heard the door knob click. Fast as lightning Zack crammed himself into the patient's bathroom swearing to himself he'd somehow fix Hotshot for not warning them. Stalker scrambled underneath the bed, his body whirring as he transformed again.

Zack hid behind the slightly ajar door facing the mirror. He could see into the room without having to chance his eyeball being seen. The nurse was a tall male with brunette hair, taller than Zack and he was peaking at 5' 9''.

"Here ya go, love." The nurse still had his face turned away as he fiddled with the equipment, Zack's brow furrowed in puzzlement at the very fake Irish accent.

"Those men in black'll be wantin' ya in yer right mind when they talk to ya." He took Diana off the morphine and onto another drug meant to wake a patient up, "I'll be back ta check on ya when they're done." He left the room.

Almost immediately his place was filled with two agents, one male and the other female. They sat in the chairs and waited for the drugs to run the girl's system. At first Diana only twitched then she jerked her chest upward and moaned in agony.

"Shiiiii……t." Diana squeaked. She felt like she was going to throw up. Her innards roiled with discomfort as the morphine's sickening after affects along with the new drugs kicked in.

The female agent leaned forward and asked. "Miss Shae? Can you understand me?"

"Fuck off."

The elder took that as a yes, "We know you've been affiliating yourself with the NBE's." the girl only continued to wiggle in discomfort, her eyes squished shut against the pain, "But since you've done nothing that has been deemed dangerous to national security, you will not be penalized."

"Good, now fuck off."

"However your parents are concerned for your safety, as are we. As soon as you are deemed safe to be moved you will be sent back home and placed under watch."

Diana opened her eyes slowly, they'd darkened from brown to black, "You… you can't be serious."

"You're under aged, so we're very serious."

"Not that! Since when do you cold h-hearted bitches care about anyone but yourselves?" Diana wanted to throw herself at the agent. She'd never really trusted the government, always sneaking around her home town like it had been a torturous game of hide and seek. The agent's face remained unchanged as she and her partner stood up and left.

Stalker resisted the urge to come out of hiding and his moment of hesitation saved him because the agents stopped at the door muttering something to the nurse who said he'd put Diana back to sleep when it was deemed safe.

Diana tried to sit up but her body would have none of it. The curtain shifted and a large male stepped through. Her eyes widened at the sight of the broad shouldered brown haired man with the name tag Steven Fletcher.

Stalker crab walked on the tips of his claws, stretching out to complete his transformation. He stopped when Diana's biosigns registered absolute terror.

_What the frag?!_

He watched the white shoes step closer to the bed and the bed rattled as if Diana had jerked into a sitting position.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" Diana pointed a warning finger at Steven.

The man held up both hands to show he was harmless but the girl would have none of it, "Diana, please." His Irish accent had been completely dropped, "I'm not the same man you knew a few years ago."

"Like hell you are! Get out!" Diana's heart was pumping in her throat, her body reacted to Steven's presence with a mixture of sick longing and hatred that boiled through her veins. She kept her eyes on his and saw it. That glint she should've seen that fateful day.

Steven took another step forward.

Diana tried to scramble away but was blocked by the tubes and cords attached to her and the bed guard, "Stalker! Someone help!" she screamed.

"Stalker? I'm not - ." the man yelped in surprise and pain. He stumbled backward, his ankles slashed. Stalker growled his spines on end making him look ferocious, golden eyes burning a shade of red in pure hatred of this human that dared to approach his partner without her permission. The man stumbled back wide eyed at the sight of the angry Autobot. Diana looked surprised for a moment but only for a moment. Steven managed to slam the door just as Stalker smacked into it.

Zack emerged from his hiding place to help Diana unstrap herself of the medical equipment.

"Na-?"

"It's Zack now, come on we've got to get you outta this place." After pulling down his hood, Zack picked her up and snatched Stalker on his way and plopped him on her lap where he transformed. Diana almost couldn't bare the hacker to be there because his body was radiating so much heat.

"Hey! Get back here kid!" the agents standing just down the hall started running after the pair. Steven was no where to be found.

Zack weaved in and out of surprised medical personnel and civilians, "Hotshot!" he called, "We've gotta make a fast one!" Diana wanted to complain that she couldn't help, but the churning of her stomach from the morphine kept her mouth shut.

"_Fast is my middle name."_ Hotshot pulled up the hospital blue prints in his cerebral function, _"Take the elevator coming up on your left, then two more lefts and you'll be out an emergency exit. Make it snappy, there's a couple of dark vans poking around the lot."_

"Ha! You tell me that when you're carrying Ironhide or something." Zack huffed. The agents were hot on his ass, he could almost feel their fingers graze his neck. Stalker accessed the elevator systems and overrode their procedures to Zack's advantage. The doors slammed shut in the agent's glaring faces. Cheesy elevator music filled in the silence between Zack's panting.

"Diana." The box opened slightly, allowing his eyes to poke out, "Who was that man?"

Diana just looked back at him for a long moment, his eyes only yellow blurs. She buried her sweat covered face in Zack's shoulder to hide the inevitable tears.

The Autobot's spark flared in anger then he realized this was not the time for this kind of talk. Growling, he then clicked fully back into his alt. Stalker fully intended on bringing this subject up again when his partner was not in such sad shape.

Lady Luck must've been on their side for they didn't run into anymore agents on the lower floors. Zack gingerly placed his friend in the passenger seat and hopped in the driver's. Hotshot pulled out of the lot and high tailed it out of there before the agent vans made another round.

"Where's Bumblebee?" Stalker asked.

The car shuddered, "He said he needed to find Arcee, also says to tell you he's sorry for not sticking around."

O

"_Come on! Arcee! Respond!" _Bumblebee was getting extremely frustrated. He didn't know why he was so angry either! His engine rumbled, the hologram sitting in his driver's seat flickering as his concentration wavered. He'd combed the city twice over and still no sign of his euphoric battle partner.

_Battle partner…_

Why did that title sound so wrong to him now?

The Camaro shuddered, throwing off the ice that had collected on him.

_Slag… I should've stayed behind! _Bumblebee pulled violently onto the street opening his scanners again. Sure, fems were notorious for being really good at hiding but this was ridiculous! He'd checked every nook and cranny he could think of and nothing. Not one residue of fembot energy not – wait. There was one method he hadn't tried.

Bumblebee felt slightly uncomfortable using this particular scanner. It wasn't that it was hard to use but it was usually used to spot a fembot that was willing to Build a Sparkling. Bumblebee had never used it since his time was about when the fembots were being destroyed, and Arcee had always other more pressing business on hand.

_Ok, mind off of Building! Focus on finding your friend you bucket of bolts!_

When he activated the scanner he was immediately rewarded with energy residue left by a passing fembot. It wasn't necessarily a pheromone like humans released but in terms of cross referencing it was close enough. Well what did Bee know? He'd been too busy fighting to really get to know the physiology of the fembots and like then he didn't care now. He was just glad to have lead. What he didn't like was that this lead was also overlapped with a Decepticon signature that was hauntingly familiar. No wonder he couldn't track her, she must've been carried inside one of them to mask her own signature. The thought of those 'Cons and their filthy digits touching Arcee made Bumblebee's spark boil with anger and he picked up speed.

OO

A heavy snow storm was reigning on the roads, making it treacherous if you were a human on the free ways. Optimus pulled onto a restricted off road that lead down to the base. The dam itself was still manned by humans because it provided a huge amount of power to the humans' cities. The four vehicles transformed just in front of the gate. The lock wasn't engaged when Optimus checked it and this caused all of them to tense.

"Be on your guard." The leader's battle mask slid across his face as he stepped out of the snowstorm and into the dark entryway. All of them proceeded with caution born from millennia of fighting. They entered the first hanger which had been where Megatron had stood imprisoned for a time. Right now it was filled with cargo cubes locked securely shut and stacked neatly with labels written on their fronts.

_BANG!_

Optimus and Ratchet whirled around guns at the ready… only to see that Sideswipe had tripped over a cable. Ratchet glowered down at the red twin who just grinned innocently before picking himself up off the floor.

The base was eerily silent, Optimus suddenly had an image of Megatron crawling like a zombie out of the shadows, intent on feasting on his metals. He shuddered at the thought and made mental note not to watch those horror genre films with Sam and Bumblebee again.

_CRASH!!_

The twins lifted their hands in genuine innocence this time when annoyed piercing optics fell upon them. Optimus strained his sonic processors and signaled the others to follow. They made their way to what had been the Cube chamber, now the place of rest for Lieutenant Jazz's remains.

All was dark and still in the chamber. None of Optimus' scans revealed any sort of… wait.

In the center of the room surrounded by more crates stacked in a formation of their grave symbol was a pod standing upright. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had suddenly lost their vigor for battle that had been radiating from them a moment ago. They looked questioningly from the coffin to Ratchet. The medic refused to acknowledge them. The last time any of the Autobots had been here was to finish moving their equipment from the Ark. The pod jumped, its metal bending from the _inside_ out. The Autobots thought their sparks would leap out of their chambers and run away without their frames.

A high pitched mechanical screech emanated from the coffin. Incoherent babbling of Cybertronian reached the horror-struck group who backed up a few steps. The coffin door suddenly slammed opened and a silver Autobot fell out. Energy shot across his body as he keeled over holding his chassis tightly. His scream nearly brought Optimus to his knees.

Jazz suddenly looked straight at Optimus, eyes glowing so harshly that they were white instead of blue.

"_Optim..m..mus?"_ with an explosion of energy the agile 'Bot leaped from his fetal position and totally tackled the leader in a huge hug.

"WOOOHOOO! I'MALIVEI'MALIVE!! Howyadoin'BigBot?" almost immediately he jumped from Optimus to Ratchet, " 'supyaluckysunnovaglitch?" from Ratchet to Suntreaker, "Heyyoubeengood?YarightIknowbetter." Sunstreaker to Sideswipe who beeped in surprise from the saboteur's surprising strength, " 'supkid?" Immediately back to Optimus who hadn't even had time to sit up let alone register all that was happening.

Jazz was supercharged and loving it! His speakers blared with every single human tune available on the planet and eventually the glowing 'Bot was dancing across the chamber. Flipping across cubes, doing the disco, moon walk, break dance you name the style and he was dancing in a way that would've made all humans die of his godliness at dancing.

"J-Jazz?" Optimus managed to spit out.

"THEoneandonlyBigBot!WOOO!" the silver 'Bot ran up the wall and landed on one of the catwalks busting out divine gymnastics. His body was literally overflowing with Energon, he was the light at the end of the tunnel in the dark world of storage space.

"Y-You're supposed to be dead! Megatron ripped you in half more than an Earth year ago!" Ratchet exclaimed, as flabbergasted as his companions. At the same time his spark was bursting with happiness and concern. He felt like he was going to go offline any second from being overwhelmed by these emotions. The ecstatic 'Bot didn't seem to be listening as he careened across the large space still yelling at the top of his volume.

"Lieutenant Jazz! Front and center! NOW!" Optimus boomed.

Immediately there was a flash and Jazz was standing in front of his commander. Except despite his efforts to stay still he was twitching uncontrollably.

The twins looked at each other in befuddlement each thinking the same exact thing: _What the frag was going on??_

"W-..ju…" for once the leader was stunned beyond words. He'd seen miracles happen on the field of battle, but never this.

Never.

"How are you alive?" Optimus finaly asked.

Jazz whirled around landing in a finale position then clutched his chassis, "It…was my Red Angel." He said in an extremely melodramatic tone.

If Ratchet could've straightened up anymore he would've, "'Red Angel'?" Jazz pointed beyond them.

Sparkle's pink eyes illuminated her sleek shining armor from where she stood leaning against the corner at the end of the hall. They seemed to be laughing the way they were shining. How had they missed her?

Ratchet opened his mouth but she silenced him with a wave of her hand, "My little secret… remember?" she smiled, soft and gentle like she had been when they'd first met her. Sparkle pointed at Jazz but spoke to the rest of them, "My gift to you Autobots and Diana." She turned, leaped and before she even started to drop to the floor she'd transformed into a jet and blasted out through one of the tunnels.

Jazz sighed, his renewed spark was just full of affection for the coy Cybertronian. He continued to look at the spot where Sparkle had been standing until Optimus whapped him on the back of the head.

"Jazz, my old friend… it's… good to have you back."

"Good to be back!" Jazz's Energon levels were returning to normal… well as normal as one could when they were excited to be alive again.

Sunstreaker pointed, "Y-you were dead?! No way!"

"What was the Matrix like??" Sideswipe wasn't able to dodge Ratchet's fist on his head.

However Jazz didn't seem to mind this question, "Ah would tell ya if ah could remember." He sat back on his heels rubbing his chin, "… if there's one thing… to remember. It's that it leaves you longing to return because of its goodness." There was moment of silence, "Not that I don't enjoy bein' here with you 'Bots er nothin'…"

"We understand." Optimus placed a heavy hand on his comrade.

"So uh… what's been rollin' since ah been in de Matrix?" Jazz asked.

O

Despite his reluctance it was Ratchet who left the group first. The snow was thick and the wind fierce. He quickly scanned the area and found that Sparkle hadn't gone far. Why he couldn't fathom because her armor didn't allow any sort of scans of her internal structure.

Ratchet walked carefully across the icy cement till he could see a flash of gold and red, "Sparkle?" he called.

Sparkle was sagging heavily against the wall of the canyon. She looked over her shoulder, the shafts on her back repositioning themselves so they could see optic to optic.

"I-I guess I still wasn't quite ready to leave. You guys came so promptly, I was hoping to rest long enough to recuperate." She said over the howling wind.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?!" Ratchet demanded. He stepped beside her, pressing both hands on either side of her so she didn't have an option of leaving.

"I'm sorry but it's none of your business."

"Sparkle!" Ratchet patience was completely gone. Sparkle flinched at his outburst, "You just brought a Transformer back to life! _Back_ to life! As in all the way from the Matrix life! Not even _I _can do that once the consciousness leaves our bodies!" Immediately Ratchet realized he wasn't going to get anything if he was being so harsh, so backed away and apologized quickly for his actions. How stupid was he being? She'd just given them the gift of a life time! And here he was yelling at her, demanding to know how. How stupid was that?

"Ratchet…"

He didn't look up.

Suddenly a hand lifted his chin, forcing him to. Sparkle was smiling gently. Oh how that smile pained Ratchet!

"If you want to know that badly… someday I'll show you. It's nothing _you_ can do." She added and touched his cheek like he had during their game, "But right now is not the time to reveal my secret." Where ever the fembot touched Ratchet she left an electrifying prickly sensation that made the medic shudder despite himself. She laughed at his pleasurable discomfort.

"Well isn't _that_ sweet!" A hideously high and dry voice exclaimed.

Both looked up to see a massive black multi limbed Decepticon. Its resemblance was that of an armored mechanical spider. Sparkle frowned up at the 'Con but didn't pull out any weapon like Ratchet was doing.

"Whoa whoa easy there tiger." The fembot scuttled along the wall so that she wasn't in any one spot, "I'm not here to collect yet."

"Who are you!" Ratchet demanded, simultaneously sending a signal to the others inside the dam.

"I'm designated Blackarachnia." The giant spiderbot continued to crawl along the wall, all eight eyes trained on the two below, "What a peculiar fem you've got there Ratchet."

Ratchet shifted uncomfortably, "Sparkle's not mine."

"Oh." Oddly enough, she didn't sound disappointed.

"Where's Arcee?"

"Arcee? I don't know, I just made planet fall a few hours ago and was sent to scout out the phenomena in this area." Blackarachnia stated matter of factly.

"Liar!"

Sparkle's gaze had strayed back to the medic. She'd hardly moved at all in the past half hour. Her Energon reserves were starting to come back to useful. The Cybertronian wanted to go and see Diana, the little human female had just been through so much from what she gathered on the frequencies she picked up recently.

"Well, we Decepticons _are_ known for lying." The spider lifted up a bit then sank down, much like a shrug.

"Do not mock me!" Ratchet growled.

Footsteps could be heard from the tunnel behind them. Blackarachnia took that as the cue to leave. With mind numbing speed the spiderbot's bladed legs could be heard clicking up into the darkness. Snow flew everywhere as Sparkle transformed and took off, this time not setting down.

O

Zack pulled out his earphone after he'd tucked Diana into Makaela Bane's bed.

"My parents aren't exactly going to be gone all vacation." she said as she entered the room with wet cloths for Diana's fever. The poor girl had thrown up several times and was still feeling nauseous from all the morphine that had been pumped into her. Stalker took the towels from Makaela and wiped his partner's sweat away.

"Ratchet said he'll be here in the next hour. He said something about having a surprise for everyone, whatever that means." Zack popped his neck. He could see Hotshot outside looking like he was covered in cake frosting from all the snow that was accumulating on him. The car shuddered and the snow went flying.

"Damn, this girl's going through a lot." Makaela leaned forward to help Stalker but was pulled away by Zack. When she looked at him questioningly he jerked his head toward the door and they left the two alone.

Stalker ignored all of them, keeping all his sensors trained on Diana. She wasn't sleeping although she pretended to be. For a long time he just stood beside her, wiping away the sweat that trickled down her face. Eventually he realized that it wasn't just sweat, but tears as well.

"Dia?" he called gently.

She twitched, lower lip starting to quiver. She turned over pulling the covers tighter with her better arm.

"Dia… I'm sorry for leaving you. I – it was unforgivable for me to do that. I promise I won't do it again." He placed his dulled digits against his spark chamber, "Sparks Promise." Diana didn't say anything, just whimpered a little. Her breathing was labored, like she was trying not to cry in front of him. Was she still upset at him or at the other one?

"Diana?" Stalker turned her face to him. At last she looked at him, her eyes puffy and red.

Suddenly she forced a smile, "Forget the mall… cough you owe me a date to a rave."

Stalker clenched his fist and slammed it on the bed, "Ugh! Why must you always be so off topic!!" the Autobot grumbled.

Diana's laugh could be heard on the other side of the door where Zack and Makaela stood.

O

Arcee moaned softly as she slowly came online. She'd expected to see a destroyed building but instead she saw that she was inside some sort of cage made of… some sort of sticky and exceedingly strong material.

_Slag…_ the sharp shooter had been relieved of her weapons permanently. Where her cannons would've been regenerating there was cuffs snapped on preventing the growth. She glanced around, all was quiet but that didn't ease her anxiety. Here she was in some sort of holding cell, weaponless, in enemy territory surrounded by wicked looking devices that only appeared in Decepticon science labs. A Decepticon science lab… AKA the torture chamber for all but the scientist. Arcee frantically tried to pry off the cuffs but they were steadfast. Not even scratched when her digits slipped off its edge. She tried breaking the material hold her against the cave wall but it was just as stubborn if not more so.

Without warning a giant entity dropped from the ceiling right in front of the struggling fembot. Its form was a lot like the earthen spider… except 1000 times bigger and deadly. Arcee froze in the middle of tugging a thread and stared at the eight eyes staring back at her. She could see herself in each of them.

"As they say, a fem loses all her valor as soon as her weapons are gone."

Arcee snarled and reached out with her one free hand to grab the spiderbot's face but he was just tantalizingly out of her reach. He cackled at her vain attempt, "Designation Arcee, sniper trained by Ironhide."

She narrowed her eyes, "You do your homework."

"Indeed." Turantulas dropped to the floor and transformed. His buttocks opened up and shifted into near impenetrable armor on his more humanoid form.

"I only need one thing from you."

"Forget it."

His laugh was sickening to Arcee's spark.

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice in the matter. However… I'll be nice since you were… shall we say… man handled a little roughly on your way here. I'll give you the choice _who_ your Spark Partner will be amidst the Decepticons."

"You've _got_ to be kidding! I will never choose any of you for a Partner you filthy little glitches! Why do you need me to Build for you anyway?! There's no point without the Cube!"

"As much as it would've been more convenient to use Blackarachnia, her ability to Build has been tainted."

Arcee straightened up at this. Despite that there were still factions among the fembots there was that invisible thread that connected them all. Something the others would never experience. That thread had only tightened it seemed, with the Allspark gone.

"What do you mean tainted?"

"My last experiment." The Decepticon sniggered. He ignored the hate filled glower Arcee cast upon him.

"You can have the choice for now, Arcee. Don't waste too much Energon trying to escape though, my patience is only so long with what I have planned for this mud ball of a planet."

Arcee watched where he'd vanished, still feeling all eight eyes on her frame. Slowly, slowly, she hung her head and closed her eyes. Never before had she been so helpless. Never. This must be what her friends had felt like when they were tortured and destroyed by Megatron's orders. Except… this was worse. She wasn't going to be destroyed and ultimately put out of her misery, sent to be bathed in eternal ecstasy in Primus' presence. Arcee's spark ached for her friends. She wondered if Diana and Stalker were alright.

_Bumblebee? Where are you… you slaggin' idiot. Hurry up… hurry up or I swear to Primus I will-._ Arcee couldn't finish the thought. There was one option left open to her, something that none of the others knew about fembots and what they could do.

**OOO**

**TT Waaaah! I can't believe I'm torturing my girls so! –grabs random reader and shakes them- why must I be so sadistic?! Why?! Why?! –holds up hand- wait! That was a rhetorical question.**

**Well that's all apart of drama right? I'm getting up to the juicy chapters I believe.**

**I haven't posted my art of Diana and Sparkle yet because I decided I want to color them despite them being conceptual art. Next chapter then!**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for the adds to ****Askani, ****Snickerer, ****Silverbug**** and ****Mrs. Sirius Black1316****. Did I miss anyone?**

**There's a grappling reference in here known as 'buck'. Basically when someone is sitting on top of you in a grappling match the person underneath plants his/her feet on the ground and thrusts their hips up very hard and fast in order to throw their captor off balance because they are setting all their weight on them in order to pin them. It works, I've done it and have had it done to me. I think it's worst when your flung forward enough that you almost crash your face into the floor. Not fun.**

**Chapter 13:**

It stopped snowing by the strike of midnight. The blanket of whiteness that had draped itself over the drab neighborhood allowed it to glisten with beauty that rivaled diamonds in the moonlight. Silence reigned at this hour, even the wind that whispered to the trees all the secrets of the world was silent. Animals holed up for the night, fearful of breaking the night's precious moment of utter silence.

Stalker lay next to Diana with two of his four hands resting on the sleeping girl's back. Now and then she shifted uncomfortably, her body still trying to run the drugs through her body. Her fever had broke some time ago which was a good sign. Ratchet was late, he must've been faced with an accident on the icy roads coming back to Tranquility and was stuck in traffic. Stalker scanned the area to find Makaela in the living room, her brain waves low indicating sleep. Zack was in the kitchen area probably rehydrating himself, Hotshot was in partial stasis outside, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Diana was dreaming again, Stalker could tell this because her brain waves were abnormally high for sleeping. The 'Bot decided he wouldn't ask Ratchet about this phenomenon, it didn't seem to be harming his partner in anyway. So why be so concerned about it?

The Autobot flattened his spines against his frame when Diana turned over, unconsciously wrapping her arm around him. Eventually the 'Bot knew she would register him as not comfortable to snuggle with and turn over in a few minutes. But then again she was still drugged so who knew what she might do. One of his warmly glowing eyes traced the female's figure slowly, taking note of each gauze lump that covered her cuts. He was no judge of human beauty but Stalker knew that he'd be disappointed if her organic body couldn't heal without leaving scars. He twitched at the thought of permanent reminders of his lack of discipline and fear. For now he didn't slip into stasis, partially so he could keep an eye on Diana in case she woke up and needed something, and partially because he was afraid that if he went into stasis the memory of Diana's blank stare would haunt him. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much, his relationship with this human confused him most of the time. But then again for all of his remembered life he'd been fighting, there had been no time for interspecies relationship with any kind. He'd seen other forms of organics on other planets but only this one, as in only Diana, had intrigued him.

_Despite the abuse I went through to befriend her._ Stalker chuckled inwardly.

Suddenly, the man whose blood still stained the tips of his digits came to mind. Stalker reviewed the memory of his friend's biosignals of that moment. They had reacted… rather uniquely. How exactly the 'Bot couldn't fathom because his scanners weren't meant for that sort of detail. Stalker opened up to the Internet to search for the man's identity but a sharp pain in his cerebral function forced him to stop. He himself was still healing from severe injury and right now he didn't want to push it and scare Diana again.

Soft footsteps sounded on the other side of the door.

Stalker lifted his head to see Zack poke his head into the sweet smelling room, "Ratchet's here." He said in a low voice. Stalker nodded and helped Zack pull Diana away from the bed (she clutched the sheets mumbling something about not getting up unless she got waffles). Zack wrapped the blanket around his long time friend and walked outside where Ratchet was idling. His back was heated to a comfortable temperature so Diana didn't wake up when Zack laid her on the stretcher provided. The two moved to Ratchet's cab as several compartments opened to reveal the medic's tools.

"So you're Nathan then." Stalker said.

"And you must be Stalker, I have to say that when I first heard about you I wanted to go back to Oregon and rip you to shreds from the way Diana first described you." Zack laughed.

"Yes… we didn't have a smooth beginning that's for sure." The Autobot glanced at Hotshot, "How'd you meet him?"

"I bought him, I found out by accident that he was an Autobot when I first saw the faction symbols on a youtube video before it was banned." Zack put on his ear piece, "Hey Hotshot, remember how we first met?"

"_You kicked my tire with a barefoot and broke your toe. How could I forget such an idiotic move on your part?"_ The Autobots snickered by way of clicks and various other mechanical noises.

Zack smiled but didn't seem too embarrassed, "I admit my stupidity in my state of shock." He laughed with them.

"_How is she Ratchet?"_ Sparkle hovered above the clouds over Tranquility, unable to land discreetly in such a populated area.

"_Several fractures, abrasions, some infection on her side and a lot of bruising. Nothing her own body can't handle but I'll just help the process along, I'm also going to get rid of all the drugs the hospital gave her."_

"_Who did this to her?"_

"_Barricade, Diana was trying to get him to let go of Arcee and succeeded." _

"_She's not afraid of battling something beyond her capability, how very brave."_

_I'd call it stupidity but her valor is definitely admirable._ Ratchet thought to himself as he injected more nanytes programmed to destroy the morphine that was still lagging Diana's system. The girl was starting to move in distress, the nanytes unpleasant to her. Ratchet could tell that she was going to wake up soon at this rate.

Ratchet turned his attention to the two in his cabin, "You can take her inside now, she might wake up from feeling the nanytes work on her so try and find something that will calm her down."

"I saw some chamomile tea in the cupboards. That'll help keep her calm, Diana loves the stuff… although I can't say I fancy her taste." Zack grunted as he picked her up and took her inside.

"Is there something you need, Stalker?" Ratchet asked when the attachment didn't leave.

"You've done a deep scan of Diana, correct?"

"Yes."

"While we were at the hospital," Stalker began to explain, "When Diana was cognitive her nurse, a male, stepped in and she became very upset and afraid. I believe she knew the man sometime in the past-."

"You didn't access her files did you?" Ratchet cut in.

Stalker tilted his head, a habit he'd picked up from Diana, "No, I tried to ID the man but I'm still healing."

"Don't."

His optics fluttered, "Don't what?"

"Don't access Diana's files, what happened to her is a very personal thing."

"Hey but you know!"

Ratchet shook the 'Bot, "I know because of my deep scan, I didn't need to access her files. What happened is up to her to reveal if she wants to."

Stalker growled, "I have a right to know as her friend!"

"Not all secrets should be accessed. If you even think about hacking into her history I'll see to it that your spark is transferred to a toaster."

Stalker clicked in annoyance.

"And Stalker, don't go after this man unless he seeks out Diana. You know Optimus said we weren't allowed to reveal ourselves to the humans."

_A little too late for that_, Stalker thought, "Give me a hint."

The ambulance twitched, "When I said no, I meant it!"

Stalker gripped the dashboard tightly, his claws digging holes into it, "Just remember who's sitting inside of you at the moment. All I'm asking for is a hint, sir."

There was a long moment of silence before Ratchet finally answered, "Ask her if she wants to go swimming." The passenger door opened.

"Thank you." Stalker scuttled quickly across the snow back into the house.

_Swimming?_ Stalker thought as he trotted on all fours into the kitchen. _What does _that_ have to do with all this?_ He looked up at Diana who was leaning over the sink looking slightly off color. Zack stood next to her, rubbing her back and whispering words of comfort. Well there was only one way to find out but… now wasn't the time.

O

Sparkle wanted to visit the girl in person but alas it was too populated an area. She continued to hover above the city, enjoying the quiet bliss that could only be found beyond the reach of the planet itself.

Two blips appeared at the edge of her sensors approaching her position very quickly. Soon two F-22 Raptors split formation and circled the Cybertronian. Sparkle just watched them for a few turns, they didn't do anything hostile toward her, they just seemed to be scoping her out. Sparkle suddenly nose dived toward the Earth and was pleased when they followed. She pulled up and skimmed the tops of the clouds, sending the heavy moister flying on either side of her.

Starscream pulled up alongside the unmarked one, _"What's your designation?"_ he asked in their language.

In answer the alien jet sent a shimmer of energy across her surface before barrel rolling back towards the sky. Starscream found this timidity rather interesting. In the past he would've destroyed any one with that sort of façade. Except this one seemed different, instead of spouting off insults and threats she just seemed to want to… what? Exist? Play? What was the point if you didn't have a purpose?

All the Raptor's questions were pushed aside when Sparkle arced upside down right above him and then Thundercracker before barrel rolling again and diving for the earth. The two Decepticons responded by complimenting the aerial gymnastics with their own, taking up a position on either side of Sparkle grazing their wingtips, accepting the invitation.

In the starlight sky the three shining entities displayed an aerial dance that would be considered joy filled. Diving through the clouds, free falling and circling each other in perfect synchronization as if the flying beasts were of one mind. At one point Sparkle transformed and the 'Cons followed her example. The red mech examined the two larger Decepticons with curious optics. No words passed between them for none was needed. For a few hours in the flow of universal time nothing interfered. Not a thought of deception, not a thought of destruction not even their plans for the future. Only this moment of union as the wind howled across their sleek armor.

If there was one thing Starscream truly enjoyed, it was this. Just flying with nothing to tie him down, not even orders or demands. He watched Sparkle flip over so that she was facing the sky. She let out a signal that was pure and songlike if a human could ever hear it.

The 'Cons bodies starting glowing in response, their Energon levels exceeding normal parameters. Bolts of blue light jumped from them to Sparkle and back. All at once the three transformed and shot off into the distance.

O

Sunlight streamed through Makaela's window illuminating the young adult's messy but not filthy habitat. Someone was playing music beyond the closed door, there was a lot of dish clinking and laughing. Diana squinted, pulling her blankets over her face trying to savor the darkness that brought bliss. Just the moving of her hand brought aches shooting through her body. Diana grunted in annoyance, she felt the impulse to check the damage on herself but just didn't have enough will power to make herself move. Along with the pain came memories of the past few days, fragile and translucent like a butterfly's gossamer wings but they were there. She tried to block out the ones from the hospital completely.

The music grew louder then blared when someone opened the door, "Good morning Diana! Are you hungry?" Stalker was playing the local radio station by request of Zack.

"Mmm."

"Zack showed me how to make your favorite. Just give me a shout if you want any." Stalker left the door wide open to allow the smell of chocolate chip waffles to waft into the room. He knew this would get Diana out of bed, her parents had always left the door open back home knowing that either hearing the household happenings or smelling food would wake their daughter.

'_Back home'… interesting choice of words there._ The 'Bot chuckled to himself.

_Damn you Stalker!_ Diana thought angrily as her stomach rumbled pleadingly. She tried sitting up but her body wouldn't respond. Her muscles were agonizingly sore and refused to move. It felt like even her bones were hurting.

"Staaaaalkerrr!" her voice was muffled by the fact that she'd buried her face in the pillow.

"Did you hear something?" the 'Bot was saying.

"I dunno." Zack shrugged.

"Staaaaaaalker! Be a good friend and bring me breakfast in bed!" Diana whined as loudly as her dry voice could manage.

"What? I can't hear youuuu!"

"I'm gonna have Ratchet reshape you into a Barbie doll!" Diana snarled.

"Oh I heard that." Immediately the music was muted.

It was a peculiar sight to see an Autobot carry a tray of chocolate chip waffles, eggs, bacon and orange juice into the room. Stalker set it down on the table and helped Diana sit up. At this point the nanytes were almost finished running their course and would drop into her bloodstream where they would be assimilated by the body. All Diana needed was to get her blood flowing to get rid of the soreness.

"You made waffles?" Diana raised one brow high in suspicion. Her mouth was watering however and she had a hard time keeping up with swallowing it. She was sitting at the desk staring at the plate as if it would come to life and eat her. Well everything looked in order…so Diana began wolfing it down.

"Yeah and he ain't half bad at it," Zack came to the door, "It's weird to watch an alien cook a human meal but I have to say! It's fun!"

"Culinary art is a fascinating thing to me." Stalker explained, "For we don't have such variety in our said diet. There's either low grade, medium grade, high grade or Cube grade." He laughed although it was a bit bittersweet.

Diana swallowed, "Well it hasn't killed me yet, I'll give you the verdict after I've keeled over in acouple hours." She received a sharp whap on her shoulder from the 'Bot. The topic of conversation switched back to culinary between Stalker and Zack. Which gave Diana time to eat the rest of her plate without disturbance, her mind was starting to dwell on the dream she'd had. It hadn't been pleasant at all. Too much blood had been spilt.

O

Sam had dropped by the house earlier with Diana's things, which made her happy except for the fact that her Ipod had been left at the hospital.

"Waahh! My beautiful music!" the teen dramatically sobbed while clutching her backpack to her chest.

"Primus! Diana don't freak please, I have all your music stored in my memory banks."

Immediately she grinned, "Really?!"

"Here." Stalker pulled something from underneath his armor. It looked like the earpiece Zack had except it had an extended cord for a secondary earbud, "I've just downloaded all the music I've heard you play, that can also be used as a communicator."

"Cool! I get to stick Stalker in my ear!" Diana laughed as she dashed away to change. Her heartiness wasn't dampened by the fact that she was limping because of severe soreness.

"By the way Diana!" Zack called after her, "Dress warmly we're going to see the newbies that just arrived."

"Ok!" she yelled back, "Wait…" she popped her head out, "Is Arcee back? Last I saw her she wasn't doing so hot."

"Bumblebee is looking for her right now."

Diana frowned before pulling back inside, "Where's Sam and Makaela?"

"Makaela said she and Sam had to deal with something so they can't make it."

"Oh, too bad."

O

Arcee woke to some strange noises. Someone was building something just around the corner from where she was plastered to the wall.

For what seemed the umpteenth time she tried to loosen the organic threads that bound her but they were as stubborn as ever.

_Who ever thought of giving such a small creature such strong material is totally laughing at me right now._ The Fembot growled to herself. So far no one had bothered her about selecting, most of the time it was Turantulas who kept her company. Scuttling along the cave ceiling where the darkness was thick, or muttering over calculations at his terminals on the floor. She'd seen Barricade drop by once but the cruiser hadn't stayed long to her relief. Frenzy however had made a habit of sticking around and causing her considerable grief. The little Decepticon would climb to her level and pester her where she couldn't reach him during the times Turantulas didn't require his services. Arcee reassessed her situation _again_.

She was stuck somewhere underground or perhaps in a mountain, her Energon levels were low causing her frame to ache from lack of energy, and she was about to be forced to Build.

All fine and dandy right?

The pink and black fembot smashed her fist against the wall in frustration only to have it get stuck against another sticky thread.

_Slag._

A door opened somewhere and a deep voice grumbled, "How the frag does this thing work?" his tone indicated he'd gestured to whatever Turantulas was working on.

"You'll see should we decide to test it on one of those Autobot idiots." the scientists' high scratchy voice responded. The door hissed again, probably the spider mech had gone to get something.

"Hmph." The Decepticon's footsteps clanked ever closer to Arcee's corner.

Panicking, the fembot leaned all her weight forward and managed to wrench her newly stuck arm free.

A huge helicopter Decepticon stepped around the corner and faced her.

Arcee's Energon deprived eyes looked up slowly, "… wait… ain't you supposed to be dead?"

Blackout said nothing, only reached up towards her face. Arcee flinched back then realized he was holding a cube of medium grade Energon (she could tell by the way it glowed).

She snorted and turned away, "If that's a gift to get my attention you're wasting your time Decepticon."

"You're levels are low, I could tell by the way you were restless in stasis."

Arcee felt her hydraulic pump grow cold, "You were watching me while I was in stasis?" she kept her voice as even as possible. It was bad enough to have eight legged freak watch her while he worked. To have an extra set of eyes on her that weren't friendly was just downright creepy.

Blackout shrugged and offered the cub again only to receive the same result. He liked how the fembot didn't like to be treated like a Sparkling. His memories of the Decepticon fems were faint but still there. Most didn't require babying to be a good companion. Arcee wasn't a 'Con obviously, but the cruel ruler of time had taught her many things including survival as the last of her kind dwindled.

"You need this." The giant Decepticon reached up with firm but gentle digits as he held her head in place.

"Wha-?! Let go of me! LE-!!!" Her words were drowned out as the 'Con force fed her the Energon. Oh how Arcee reviled being so small sometimes! It made it easy for thugs like Blackout to manipulate her functions. About half the concoction made it into her hungry systems before she spit out the rest. Her blue optics brightened as renewed energy rushed through her.

Blackout laughed at her vain attempts to get his hand off of her head, "Good enough." He let go.

She wiped away the mess trickling down her front, "You're horrible." She seethed.

"I'll take that as a compliment." The 'Con tapped her fondly on the head before leaving the fembot to her grief. Before the copter completely vanished around the corner his blades blossomed open, allowing Skorpanok to leap out and land on the stone floor. This Decepticon preferred limiting himself to the primal urges of seek and destroy. The multi limbed mech scurried around below Arcee, bug eyes leering up at her. She made a face of disgust.

"I see Blackout's revealed himself to you."

The voice came from above, startling her bad enough that she felt her spark would leap out of its chamber.

"Slag! What is with you spiderbots and sneaking up on me?!"

"Convenience. Plus the look on your face is priceless!" Blackarachnia chuckled.

Arcee snarled, her pity for the other fembot's inability to Build lessoning by the nanosecond, "If you have nothing better to do I suggest you go scrap yourself!"

"Is that anyway to talk to the one that can help you get out?" the spider crawled straight over the other mech and turned around so that her face was merely inches away, "As soon as I tell the others what I've found out, you won't be of much use to them."

"What do you mean?" Arcee asked. Her senses told her to not trust the 'Con, but it wasn't like she had anywhere to go or anything else to do.

"Oh, that shiny unmarked fembot I found with Ratchet outside of the dam. She brought Jazz back from the Matrix."

"…you lying glitch."

"I would say the same thing if it weren't true."

"Why is Sparkle so special? Blackout was supposed to be dead, if your partner is so good why are you so interested?"

"Blackout was disabled but managed to recover enough while Megatron and Optimus were duking it out to escape Mission City. He hid in the mountains in critical condition until Starscream managed to get a hold of us," The spiderbot transformed, her bladed legs still holding her humanoid form to the wall. She leaned in closely, lowering her vocals volume, "Fembot to fembot, I'd rather take a chance at trusting my enemy to get out rather than being taken advantage of."

Arcee narrowed her optics, "Why would you care anyway?"

"I don't as a Decepticon."

"Hmph, well then I guess I prefer you as just another fembot. Whatchya got in mind?"

The two fems were interrupted by Skorpanok's insistent clicking. The Decepticon never spoke but it wasn't like he didn't understand in his limited mind set. Blackarachnia pointed her arm at the metal bug and shot a glowing thread at the 'Con's head. The material hissed upon touchdown causing the giant attachment to squeal in pain before passing out from the virus injected by the nanytes.

She transformed again pulling the threads off of Arcee as if they were cotton strings, "First you have to pretend to be my next meal." Before Arcee could respond the spider was twirling her around into a fresh cocoon.

_Oh great…_

O

They rode inside Hotshot all the way to the outskirts of town, meeting in a place protected from the elements on all sides in the hills.

Diana let out a long whistle, "Hey who are these two hotties." She'd always liked Vipers, less for their look and more for their name. It just seemed like such a vicious name to give a car. The twins snickered.

"My name's Sideswipe." He transformed in order to show off but was shoved aside by his brother and was beat to it.

"I'm his twin, Sunstreaker. Only the best lookin' on this planet sweetie." He winked at Diana who laughed.

"Hey! What about me?" Hotshot grumbled.

Zack patted his car, "Don't worry buddy, she loves you too."

"Hmph." The Chrysler visibly sank on his tires.

"So… you're twins?" Diana asked.

They nodded at the same exact time.

"How does that happen?"

"Two sparks in one body, that's how it happened." Ratchet said as he pulled onto the scene, "At the time of their sparking the Cube decided to make two sparks instead of one for the body Built. Hence the two trouble makers that stands before us today."

"Aww! We love you to Ratchet." Sideswipe teased.

Abruptly there was a loud rev of an engine as a Pontiac Solstice pulled up in front of his two bigger counter parts. Diana arched one brow at the newcomer. Didn't the Autobots say that one of their comrades had been that car?

The Pontiac transformed into a small silver warrior with feather like prongs on his head. He knelt to Diana's level placing his hand on his chassis and bowing his head in greeting.

Diana just stared for a moment the pointed at the 'Bot, "De ja vu!" she yelled with wide eyes.

Jazz raised a metal brow, "De ja vu?"

"I had a dream that you came back to life when I came here! What's your face… Jazz right?"

"Got that right babe, an' never forget it! Come here I got somethin' for ya." He twisted and reverted to his alt form. A hologram of a handsome black skinned man wearing silver clothing with unnaturally bright blue eyes shimmered into existence. The passenger door opened when he pulled up next to Diana. She looked at Stalker and Zack who were just as clueless.

"Come 'ere I ain't gonna bite."

Diana shrugged leaned inside the car.

The hologram leaned over to close the gap quickly and planted a kiss on the teen's lips. Shocked at the electrifying sensation left by the touch as the hologram dematerialized Diana leaped back clutching her face.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Stalker snarled a little too quickly. Zack had fallen over Hotshot's hood laughing his gut sore.

The Pontiac transformed and bowed again to the young lady, "Diana Shae you are apart of the reason I've been blessed with a second chance. On my way here I decided that that was the best human thank you I could give." The Autobot was grinning from prong to prong, "My Red Angel told me that she might've just left me in the Matrix if you hadn't asked about seeing me. I am in you and Sparkle's debt."

"Uhhh… you're welcome?" Why was she blushing so hard it hurt? He was an alien! An alien kiss didn't count! Did it? AHH!!! Get head out of the gutter!

"You look like you enjoyed that Diana." Zack managed to spit out between deep breaths.

"Shut up!"

Stalker just folded his arms and remained silent.

"Hey can I have a kiss?" Sideswipe knelt beside her.

"No! You don't just give kisses out to _any_one. 'Least that's my philosophy." Diana huffed, her face still burning.

"Awww! Come on! Give a hottie a kiss!" Sideswipe's whining earned him a solid kick on his chin. It didn't hurt but the action did surprise him. Diana stood with her fists on her hips glaring at the 'Bot. Sunstreaker's frame shook as he withheld laughter.

"Back off Sides," Jazz said gently, "If the female has standards, better respect 'em." He smiled at Diana who smiled back. She liked Jazz, he gave off the first impression of an avid party goer but was actually a mature entity.

Ratchet snorted, "Barely on Earth two days and you're already trying to find a fem. I didn't know you two were interested in things other than wreaking havoc."

Before either of the twins could retort back, Optimus and Ironhide rolled on into the area designated as a safe area for them to transform outside of prying eyes.

"Honestly, how hard can it be for humans to miss a giant arachnid transformer crawling around the area? It doesn't make sense Optimus." Ironhide was saying.

"Ironhide!"

"Can't you see I'm busy Jazz? So Lennox was sa-aaahuh?!" Ironhide whipped around to look again not believing his optics, "Jazz?!"

"What's crackin'?" Jazz was absolutely adoring the attention he was getting.

"I'll explain later Ironhide." The commander pushed the black mech's hanging jaw closed. He turned the rest of the group, "This isn't a social gathering Autobots, we've lost contact with Bumblebee."

"What?" Stalker stepped forward, "You mean he hasn't made contact since he went looking for Arcee?"

"He did for awhile, then when it came for him to report in he didn't. He's missed two reports now."

"How can we help?" Diana asked.

"If from what I've gathered the Decepticons have managed to set up a base somewhere on Earth and we have to find it and take it out before they wreak any havoc." Optimus addressed the humans of the group, "Your government already knows of our movements. So they shouldn't be a problem."

"No it seems_ I'm_ the problem. The MIB seem to be very keen on bringing me back home." Diana huffed in frustration, "I don't see why though."

"That is a concern I've noted, so you are going to help establish _our_ base of operations." Optimus now looked at each member, "We will convert Hoover Dam for now."

"Sweet!" Sideswipe piped.

"What about Bee and Arcee?" Diana asked.

"Hotshot and the twins will look for them."

"What're you and tall dark and handsome going to be doing then?"

"We will look as well but in a different location where we've found suspicious activity."

Jazz straightened up, "Hey what about me Optimus? I may've just come back from the dead but I'm in tip top shape!"

"You will help Ratchet at the dam."

"Oh." The lieutenant looked disappointed.

"You have your assignments. Autobots, roll out!"

The air filled with clicks, hisses and whirs as the entities transformed into their alt modes. Jazz opened up for Diana who climbed in, Stalker leaped over her lap and sat in the driver's seat.

"Hey hey little guy! I can't be seen without someone drivin' ya know."

"Right." The attachment clicked and pulled himself into the backseat. He saw Diana smile at him although he wasn't quite sure what she was smiling for. In fact he didn't know why he was upset by the whole thank-you-by-kiss thing. Kissing was a primal… but effective way of expressing one's feelings he guessed. Then again what did he know? He wasn't a human; he was appalled at Jazz's bravery to try such an intimate thing. Maybe it was just happiness overloading his circuitries from being brought back to life that made the big 'Bot so bold. Stalker chewed on these thoughts until his cerebral hurt.

_Ouch! This interspecies relationship thing's really complicated…_ Stalker watched Diana talk with Jazz's hologram, she was laughing at something he'd just said but Stalker hadn't been tuned in. He took comfort in the fact that Diana was wearing his gift that he'd made for her around her neck.

O

A giant tree crashed to the forest floor as an angry Bumblebee knocked it down. He knew he was being careless but at this point he didn't care. He'd lost track of his friend's energy signature again and hadn't been able to pick it up. Mud clung to his legs as he stormed across the wilderness, the warm day melting the snow away rapidly.

"It's not your style to be so obvious, is something…bothering you scum bag?" it was Barricade's voice, full of mockery and hate.

Bee whirled in the direction of it with his canon raised but saw nothing. He tipped his battle mask over his face, opening all sensors to find that Barricade was on the other side of the growth before him for now.

"Where's Arcee!" he demanded.

Barricade grinned, "Enjoying herself, you should hear her shriek in pleasure." He sighed to give emphasis. He jumped back when Bumblebee came tearing through the trees firing his heavy weaponry. The cruiser sidestepped the Autobot and cracked him on the head. The pathetic mech was blind in his anger and wasn't allowing himself control. Barricade on the other hand was a master of being detached emotionally.

The yellow 'Bot wasn't given time to recover before Barricade pulled him to his feet and smashed him in the chest with his spiked weaponry. Bee yelped in pain as he was thrown back against a group of trees. Before he hit the ground however he flipped around firing his arm cannon and landed a few blows. The cruiser shrugged off the wounds and came at Bee again.

The two locked together trying to force one another onto the ground, Bumblebee struggled to hold off the larger 'Con but his knees were already bending for Barricade had always been physically stronger than him. Quickly he shifted his feet and flipped the 'Con over his hip, slamming his head into the mud sodden ground. Barricade grunted as Bumblebee's full weight come crashing down on him. The scout had his arm cannon pointed at his head as well as his shoulder mount weaponry.

"Where. Is. Arcee." Bumblebee punctuated every word with a hard jab from his arm cannon.

"Hmph, like I'd tell you." Barricade grinned.

"Then I'm gonna rip your spark out very slowly until you do!"

"How unlike you Bumblebee, you're starting to sound like Megatron." Barricade took the moment of Bee's outrage to buck him off balance then throw him away.

A loud thud wasn't heard by the battling Transformers as Sparkle landed not far away. She was followed by Thundercracker and Starscream.

She walked forward holding out her hand, the orb on her armor glowed as her subspace pocket was opened. A long spear appeared, the blade opened in the center with a sphere of glowing material suspended in the middle.

The Cybertronian made a swiping motion, on impact with the 'Con there was a flare of light and Barricade was knocked away from Bumblebee. The sphere seemed to pulse with vigor for battle.

Bumblebee watched the fembot in surprise as she walked over to a stunned Barricade. She planted her foot heavily on his chest plate and wedged the tip of her energy spear into his neck.

Sparkle looked down at the 'Con with distaste, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't touch my human friend again."

Barricade resisted the urge to growl at the fem, his mind simultaneously coming up with ways to frag his flying 'comrades' who were snickering on the sidelines. The cruiser would've knocked the spear away if he didn't feel his circuits buzzing with a strange energy seeming to come from the weapon. It felt like his head was going to pop off at any second.

"That…" he hesitated in name calling while in this position, "one the Autobots call 'Diana'?" _That slippery little meatball that I want to rip to shreds?_

"That's the one, now are you going to comply forever or do I have to extract your spark and send it to the Pit?" the calm lucidity of her voice irritated Barricade.

"Fine."

Sparkle smiled sweetly, "Good boy." She released him and walked back toward the flyers. When she was next to Bumblebee she stopped and knelt beside him, her own battle mask retracted back into its sockets, "I wouldn't look too hard for Arcee around here if I were you."

"Why?"

"The last time I picked up her signal she was driving very fast toward Mission City. Funny how she just appears out of no where sometimes." Sparkle winked at the 'Bot before joining Starscream and Thundercracker back in the skies.

Bumblebee and Barricade watched the flyers until they were out of sight, and then looked at each other. Bumblebee leapt up running as fast as he could for the highway he'd abandoned earlier. Barricade fired at the Autobot managing a headshot that caused a satisfying scream of pain.

**OOO**

**Meh… don't have much to say about this chappie. Except that I had to get Arcee out of the Decepticon's creepy little fingers without revealing their base somehow. Plus it helps to have all of them together so I can have more Diana and Stalker goodness! X3 **

**Thanks in advance for the reviews! See ya'll next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you ****Teiya Renee ****and ****Ashalyn**** for the adds!**

**Ok, since I absolutely don't want to make a chapter of gathering all of the characters together… I'm fast forwarding to the cool stuff. **

**Well… it'll get bloody so be forewarned. (bloody not being the cool stuff fyi)**

**Chapter 14:**

What ever the Decepticons had been planning they were laying low for awhile licking their wounds that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had inflicted on them. Hotshot and his group had found Bumblebee heavily wounded outside of Tranquility midway between cities. Despite his wounds however, the Camaro had soldiered under his own power to the newly proclaimed base where Ratchet immediately put him in a restoration pod. Arcee was a regular visitor, constantly chattering to herself in Cybertronian as she paced in front of the pod.

"Hmmm." Diana huffed from where she stood on a catwalk watching Bumblebee rest.

"Is something bothering you?" Stalker approached her, having just finished helping Ratchet put together a security system.

"Yeah… looks like Arcee's more upset than me though. Poor girl, I hope they didn't manage to robo rape her or anything."

Stalker leaned against the railing tuning in to the one way conversation below, "No, they didn't.

"Good."

"So what has been bothering you?"

"I'm just a little sick of all the tension in the air. We need to lighten up the mood or something." She took Stalker's hand and pulled him toward the stairs, "Hey Arcee! Come with us for a minute!" The fembot obliged reluctantly.

Diana led the two Autobots into another room where Hotshot and Jazz were taking stock of their supplies, Zack was watching them from where he stood at their feet.

"Zack! Jazz! Hotshot! Do you wanna play a game with us?" Diana called.

"A game? What sort of game?" Hotshot asked.

"Why not catch a break and I'll show you!" still holding onto Stalker like he was a little brother instead of an advance alien.

On their way to the main chamber they ran into Sparkle who'd some how managed to get inside again. Her face plates tightened into a smile when she saw the group.

"Perfect! Glittercheeks completes the circle!" Diana clapped her hands together, "Ok, since a few of us are giants you're gonna have to have some restrictions in this game."

"Why?" Jazz asked.

"You'll see."

O

Ratchet walked in examining results on his data pad and stopped at the odd sight before him. Sitting in a circle evenly spaced out were Hotshot, Jazz, Sparkle, Zack, Arcee, and Stalker. Diana was on the outside of the circle describing something to them all.

The human glanced over her shoulder when she heard the door open, "Ratchet! Come join us! We were just about to play a game!"

Ratchet hesitated, seeing Sparkle's smirk.

Diana's eyes suddenly became big making what human's called the 'puppy face', "Please Ratchet? For me?"

"Come on doc, it's good to take a break once in awhile." Jazz encouraged.

Cooling vents expired making it sound like Ratchet was heaving a sigh, "Oh all right." He set his pad aside.

"Yay!" Diana grinned, throwing her hands into the air. They adjusted the circle to include the new comer.

"Ok, here are the rules of the game I like to call 'Bot 'Bot 'Con." Diana explained, mostly toward Ratchet, "I go around touching each one of you as I go by saying 'Bot'. If I call you a 'Con, you have to try and catch me while I run the full circle. If you tag me before I take your seat then I'm 'it' again. Big mechs have to give the smaller peeps a head start though." Diana added, "Because we can't cover as much distance as fast. Oh and no bioscans you Autobots it's not fair if you can see when we humans are going to pick before we actually do. Get it?"

"Got it." Ratchet said.

"Great!" Diana started off being 'it'.

Stalker watched her doing his best not to scan. It was actually a lot easier said than done because scanning was like breathing to a human. Considering his nature of always needing to know what was going on in his surroundings.

"'Bot….'Bot….'Bot…hey no getting half way up Hotshot!...'Bot…..'CON!" Diana tagged Zack who tripped on his way up. Diana had a hard time running because she was giggling so hard at being chased. She slid into Zack's seat just before his fingers grazed her hood.

"Damn it Diana! Why…. do you have to run so fast?"

"I don't run fast, you just run slow. You need to get off your butt and exercise!"

"Oh says the one who's breathing hard too!" Zack became 'it'. He walked passed Diana, touched Jazz and Hotshot then hesitated at Arcee.

Arcee took note of this movement but decided not to react until Zack had tagged her as a 'Con. Instantly the fembot was on her feet and chasing the male around the circle. They'd only passed Sparkle when Arcee tackled Zack to the ground.

"Ouch! Man… good thing you don't weigh that much." Zack complained. He could hear everyone else either clicking or giggling at his expense.

"Sorry." Arcee patted him on the back before returning to her seat.

"Big liar." Zack laughed.

"'Bot….'Bot…'Bot….'Con!" he'd tagged Stalker.

Stalker didn't quite make it and became 'it'.

The game proceeded with many laughs and mishaps as the Autobots started to pull stunts not specified in the rules. At one point Jazz did a leap frog over Ratchet in order to avoid Diana's touch and reach the safe spot. This hurt Diana in a way that she chose him again and this time ran with all her might, jumped and clung to the agile 'Bots' leg to tag him. Sparkle waited for Ratchet to get tagged before tripping the medic on his way around chasing Hotshot. He gave her a look of resentment and she just looked back in innocently (no one had seen it anyway). Diana felt this was the best reformatted game of 'Duck Duck Goose' in the history of man kind. Not only were there aliens playing, but they made creative ways of escaping other than just running for your life around the circle of death.

Diana had one earbud in listening to her music as they played. At one point she managed to tag Stalker who'd been tripped by Hotshot (tripping had become a painful but amusing addition to the game), "Yes!" she did the river walk then victory posed dramatically. Stalker took note that these moves had been almost exactly to the rhythm of the music she was listening to which sparked a question.

"Diana," Stalker asked as she took her seat, "How do you know what dance moves to do?"

Still breathing hard from running Diana paused, "Well… how do you know what parts to move when you transform?"

"Is it that instinctual?"

Diana nodded.

"That's what I like about you humans, the dancin' I mean." Jazz added, "I can only download information about them and put together a collection of moves. But I can't bring them out of thin air like a human does."

Diana snapped her fingers writhing her upper body to the base section of her music, "You just gotta… feel the beat ya know?"

Suddenly there was a loud crash that interrupted the game. Ratchet groaned in exasperation.

"Hey! Don't drop it!" sounded Sunstreaker's voice.

"I didn't drop it!"

"Oh and that fumbling wasn't you about to drop it."

From the way their footsteps sounded off beat, one of them was carrying a leg injury.

"Do you think someone else will take care of it?"Sideswipe asked his brother.

"I know I'm not gonna… ouch! Get it off me!"

More clicking, cursing, crashing and tripping.

The door hissed open to reveal the heavily damaged twins, Sideswipe looked like he was hiding something in his hands.

"And so it begins." Ratchet ignored Sparkle's and Arcee's giggles.

"Jeez, what spit you out?" Diana asked.

"We weren't eaten!"

"Just… tell us what happened." Ratchet ordered.

Sunstreaker answered, "We found Barricade sneaking around in the back roadways and he seemed to be up to no good so we engaged him. We sure sent him packin' right bro?"

"Yeah! You shoulda seen that Pit Spawn high tail it outta there when _we_, the magnificent duo surprise attacked him."

"What was he doing back there?"

"Picking on this little guy I think." Sideswipe opened his hands to reveal his prize only to have it jump out of his hands and charge away, "Hey! Come back here!"

The blur ran blindly until it smacked right into Diana who yelped in surprise as the small transformer scrambled around her body frantically ending up clinging to her torso shaking in fear.

"Holy crap!" Diana looked at Stalker for an answer.

"A Drone Autobot."

"Drone?" Diana wasn't sure what was supposed to be done with the fear filled creature clinging to her so she just gathered him up and patted his back.

"Drones are Cybertronians that don't have sparks." Stalker prodded the smaller 'Bot and clicked at it. The little one stopped shaking and clicked back, "He can't survive without his daily dose of Energon unlike those with sparks. And he probably doesn't have an alt, it's rare for one to have an alt." The drone ran on all fours with a cord like tail and big blue eyes that reminded Diana of a monkey from a cartoon she'd seen somewhere.

"Aww he's cute." Arcee chimed in, kneeling next to Diana, "And he seems to like you." She added as the drone became brave enough to crawl onto the girl's shoulder to look at the other entities in the room.

"Oh great, more shorties for me to deal with."

Stalker blinked, "Hey!"

The drone hopped from Diana onto Stalker's head looking the Autobot in the eyes upside down. He beeped.

"I'll call him Zan."

"Why Zan?" Jazz asked.

"Because Tarzan is taken." Diana grinned.

"What're drones used for?" Zack asked.

"They're usually used for small work inside a computer console… like what I'm doing right now." Stalker tried to get rid of the drone but it just swung on the 'Bot's shaking hand making a small "weeeee!" sound.

"Dawww! He _is_ cute!" Diana held out her hands and Zan hopped on only too happily.

Ratchet was cursing up a storm in Cybertronian at the twins as he ushered them with no remorse out of the main chamber and into the partially finished med bay.

"Well I think that signals the end of the game," Arcee placed a hand on Diana's shoulder, "Thanks, I needed something to cheer me up." The human smiled in return.

"Hey Hotshot! We need to make a grocers stop. Come on."

"Since when do _I _need to cart you around all the time now?"

"Since I bought you."

"You don't own me!"

Zack pulled out a piece of paper, "See this, it says that I _own_ you! You're my bitch! Mine! My own!"

"Am not!" the Autobot made a grab for the paper but missed. Being smaller and therefore more nimble than his larger partner, Zack made a dash for the base's exit laughing evilly with Hotshot hot on his ass in vehicle mode.

Diana laughed, "Dork."

"Say, Diana."

"Yes, Stalker?"

"I've seen you excel at a lot of physical activities, how come I've never seen you in the activity of swimming?"

"NO!!"

Diana clamped her hand over her mouth as all optics in the room turned at her outburst, "I mean fuck no! I mean….no." she took a deep breath. Her racing heart betraying her emotions to Stalker, "I just don't like swimming ok? It's not that I can't, I just don't like it."

Zan shook a tiny fist at Stalker making a sound close enough to the English word 'bad'. He hid behind Diana when Stalker glared at him. An awkward silence filled the room.

"Diana," Sparkle knelt beside the human holding out her hand, "Please come with me, I'd like to speak with you."

Stalker felt absolutely terrible in his spark at the look Diana gave him before climbing onto the red mech's hand, Zan clinging to her arm. The look hadn't been angry, just aggrieved. Like he'd touched a place in her life that still smarted with pain at the slightest movement.

_Maybe Ratchet was right…_ Stalker thought, his antennae ears hanging. _I mean… there are some things I'd rather not repeat._

"Hey little 'Bot don't be sad, it happens. You didn't know." Jazz tried to comfort the attachment.

"Yeah, knowing Diana she'll get over it by this evening if not sooner." Arcee added although she was a little annoyed that Diana had put forth all that effort to amuse them only to be hurt unintentionally.

_Problem is… I _did_ know...sort of._ Stalker ignored his larger counter parts and left the room.

O

"That was an interesting activity you had for us." Sparkle said as she walked down one of the many halls of the base, "What are its origins?"

"I derived it from a game I used to play when I was little." Diana explained. Zan was toying with her hair as if it was a magnificent specimen. The girl had to pull the drone off before it managed to tangle it into dreadlocks. 'aww' the drone pouted, disappointed. His attention span quickly was distracted by something Diana couldn't see.

"A game of reaction and speed, good for training."

"Less for training and more for keeping us sugar hyped four year olds in line." Diana laughed, "So what's up Glittercheeks?"

The mech arced a metal brow, "You really like to nickname me that don't you?"

"It stuck, yeah."

"Hmm, well, I'd like to give you something." Suddenly a piece of Sparkle detached itself. The shape reminded Diana of some sort of bird with no features. Zan squeaked at his fellow drone, the shining other merely beeped back as it floated up to Diana. It opened its 'beak', there was a pop and a flash of light and something dropped onto Diana's lap. Zan snatched it up turning it over in his digits before Diana took it away from him. It was a sort of device disguised as a watch. It was red and gold with a blue centerpiece.

"What's this for?"

"A gift from me to you, its function is similar to the one around your neck." Sparkle smiled.

"Oh, thank you." Diana slid off of the Cybertronian's shoulder when she knelt toward the floor, "Hey Glittercheeks, why do you have such an interest in me?"

The red mech shrugged, "I find you interesting because you seem to have abilities beyond any other human. Plus you show no intimidation and you trust us despite us being alien."

"You obviously haven't heard me and Stalker's stories."

"Speaking of your partner… he looked very unhappy after he asked you that question."

Diana snorted and folded her arms, "Well he should be… but… ." She sighed and ran a hand through her long black hair. She excused herself and ran back the way they'd come.

Sparkle's drone beeped, inquiring about something.

"No it's best not to tell her about the extra function of that piece." She told the drone as it reattached itself.

O

It took Diana the better part of an hour before she found Stalker underneath one of the consoles in the main chamber. He was so concentrated on his work that he failed… or rather refused to acknowledge her presence.

"Stalker?"

"I'm busy."

"Stalker, about earlier-."

"It's not my business! I know." Stalker was attempting to pull something out. Suddenly he felt a hand grip his neck and he was yanked out from underneath the console. She tossed Zan inside and the drone squeaked in happiness as he began his work in repairing the computer.

Diana set Stalker against the console looking him in the eyes, "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"… apology accepted." Stalker started to go back underneath the console but was stopped by his partner.

"It's not that simple." Diana resisted every urge to stop what she was about to say, "I… well I was upset because I've just had a really bad experience involving a swimming pool." There was a moment of silence.

"What happened?" Stalker asked tentatively. Diana sat down Native American style, the 'Bot following her example. He could see her body pheromones sky rocket with discomfort.

"Ok, so here it goes." Diana breathed, "Last year I got my first boyfriend ya know? Well, he was real nice, treated me respectfully. He was always quiet, nobody knew that much about him. He told me he was a senior at some other high school in my district. Said he couldn't drive because he didn't have a license yet which we joked about a lot."

Diana's throat was starting to tighten painfully but she continued on, "He asked me to pick him up from his house one day and I said yes. He invited me to see his backyard, no one else was home. I was so stupid I didn't trust my gut when it said to leave…" she couldn't stop the flow of tears now. Stalker leaned forward gripping both of her shoulders, his extra set of hands wiping the tears away. She smiled but it wasn't a happy one.

"Sick minded freak tried to drown me in his pool." She could feel the cold water surrounding her again, "I fought back as best I could, managed to scratch up his face, pinch his nerves and pull myself out of the pool." She rubbed her nose with her sleeve, "I was choking a lot, I think water had gotten into my lungs. He didn't stop there though, oh no, I could hear him talking, coming nearer, saying something about being sorry, and that he wanted to apologize. Ha! He 'apologized' by raping me!" Diana quoted with her fingers and very heavy sarcasm. Zan crawled out sensing her distress. He glared at Stalker who only ignored him.

"Police never found him, apparently he always used different names and crap like that." She tried to calm herself down, the memories rushing back freshly, "Stalker, he stole the most precious thing from me. I don't expect you to understand a human's virginity thing… but it's a big deal." The mech watched her hand stray to her womb, "His sickness didn't end there, I got infected by the intrusion. He hurt me even after he was already gone. He almost took my life last year." She laughed coldly, "That's why my parents were so keen on keeping a leash on me if you can remember that. They're afraid, and I'm still a bit afraid but I'm more afraid of being suffocated for the rest of my life. Really annoying, I didn't want to live my life under their wing all the time." She reached up, touching Stalker's spiney cheek plate, "So there you have it, my reason for my flare-up. Sorry for taking it out on you. Seeing that freak just brought it all back."

Stalker took her hand in his, "There is no need for you to apologize." Although his voice was lucid his spark burned with hatred beyond measure. That man he'd seen in the hospital had done something beyond forgiveness to his partner.

"I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat." Diana was saying as she stood. Wiping her tears away and sounding like she hadn't just told a very dark moment of her life, "Wanna come?"

Stalker only looked back at her. How could she just dismiss this? It was a horrifying experience! Then the mech realized it was how Diana was surviving the emotional turmoil. Putting it in the past. Covering it in darkness but never forgetting it, a scar so much deeper than the pale ones left on her body by physical battle.

"No, I have something else I need to finish."

"Oh, ok. See ya later then."

OO

"Jazz! Lieutenant Jazz! Wait a microt!"

The saboteur turned around to see Stalker running toward him, "What's up little 'Bot?" he knelt to the other's level.

"I need you to take me to Tranquility."

"What for?"

"You want to thank Diana don't you? Well think of this as indirectly thanking her."

"Uhh… ok. Hop on in." he transformed.

On the way there Stalker tested his wireless hacking ability and was thrilled to find it didn't pain him as that much anymore. He looked up the necessary information about this nameless bastard and his work at the Tranquility hospital. Sure he'd probably be strapped down and have his spark in a toaster for a few months but he didn't care. Diana had brought back his will to continue to function after Shadow's death, Stalker wanted to return the favor at any cost. Plus he hadn't lived up to his name in too long.

"Any place in particular you want to go?" Jazz asked as they entered city limits.

"Just drop me off at Pearl St." the Pontiac found a secluded area near the said street and opened his passenger door. He was surprised when Stalker's signature completely vanished before the 'Bot hit the pavement.

Completely hidden from scanners and visual sight, Stalker made his way to the hospital careful not to run into any of the passerby's on the sidewalks. He waited at the employee entrance until he saw his target come out. The man who dubbed himself as Steven Fletcher was talking and smiling at a fellow co-worker, a female at that. Stalker growled internally. He waited until Fletcher approached his car and attached himself to the bottom.

The drive to Steven's house was short, but the silence told Stalker that the neighborhood was settling down for the night. Children pulled indoors to consume nourishment, TV and story time merging into one. Steven wanted company himself and was glad that she'd accepted his invitation. He went into his house heaving sighing at the sight of rest and relief. His mind worked around the ways he could reach that peak again, that peak of satisfaction he'd gotten from that young naive girl a year ago. By far she'd been his favorite experience. She'd fought back and almost succeeded in escape, he commended her for her strength. Alas he had still been stronger than her. Steven readied everything for his co-worker's visit, including putting away any personal belongings he couldn't part with (which wasn't much). His house was fairly bare and all the mail was under a name he'd stolen off the internet. This house unfortunately didn't have a pool, just a covered Jacuzzi.

To add to the mood, Steven lit scented candles to put around the bubbling water. Leaning caused his ankles to smart in pain, a reminder that his little adventure had been real. That bed demon had actually cut him… well demon was an understatement. He wasn't sure what the thing had been. Steven went back inside the house.

Immediately he noticed something was wrong. Music was playing, not just any music it was shrieking violins when someone in a classic horror flick was about to be killed by the mutant. He found the source had been his computer. Strange, he didn't remember turning it on. Perhaps he'd left it on and it was coming out of sleep mode. He switched off the music. He turned around and was surprised to hear the music start up again. Steven glanced over his shoulder at Media Player, the visualizations pulsing deep red.

"What the hell?" he leaned over the keyboard trying to stop the program, "Damn hackers." They'd probably uploaded a virus or had found out his IP address and were screwing with him. He couldn't have this spoiling his night. Steven unplugged the computer instantly shutting off the irritating violins. The sudden silence made it so he heard something padding across the carpeted floor.

_Too subtle for police…_ Steven cautiously followed the sound to the back where the Jacuzzi was steaming now having warmed up. Slowly the brunette scanned the area, seeing nothing really suspicious.

He turned around and yelled in surprise to see the bed demon standing between him and the house.

"Care to share your experience?" the machine snarled and rushed Steven, spines bristling and claws glowing with plasma blades. His frightening appearance caused the man to stumble backwards and fall into the Jacuzzi. Snarling in triumph Stalker leaped in after the disgusting human.

Even though he was an organic, Steven was bigger and heavier than Stalker and the 'Bot knew this. He slashed at the man's arms, cutting bone and muscle. Blood and water sprayed everywhere, extinguishing candles, staining wood and painting the air with vengeance.

Gargling and screaming the man tried to get his head above the surface but Stalker was everywhere at once. Something clicked in his primitive mindset and with a shot of adrenaline he threw the attachment off of him and staggered away as fast as he could. He slammed the back door closed only to almost have his knee caps almost taken off as the mech's claws punctured through the pathetic barrier.

Now the victim of his sins, Steven limped across the house trailing blood soaked water in his wake. His left leg muscle had been cut so now that leg was useless. He ignored the pain screaming through his nerves as he pulled open a drawer at his desk and loaded a gun. He whipped around in time to see Stalker bash in the door and fired.

Most of the bullets stung but didn't penetrate, it was the one that broke his eye that made the 'Bot squeal and vanish completely into thin air. Except that he was dripping with blood which outlined his slinking figure. The blood ghost crouched low like a panther, a sinister buzzing ringing the male's ears as he tried to reload. His worst nightmares stalked slowly toward him.

OOO

Ratchet exited the medbay having resisted the huge urge to weld the twins to the ceiling and leave them there. He almost ran into Sparkle who'd been waiting for him to come out.

"Oh, hello my favorite fembot who likes to embarrass me."

Sparkle laughed, "You just need to relax, you're too stiff most of the time. It shouldn't take a few shots of High Grade to do that." Suddenly they both looked as Bumblebee walked tentatively out of the restoration chamber rubbing his head and talking with a happy looking Arcee. The two younger mechs took no note of their elders as they walked out of sight.

"He's out ahead of schedule." Ratchet looked at Sparkle.

She smiled, "Walk with me?"

Ratchet held out his arm and she took it. They walked to the main chamber which had held the Allspark.

"There was nothing wrong with Jazz's body, all I needed to do was repair him." Sparkle said as they walked.

"Even _I_ couldn't repair the damage. His spark chamber had been ripped in half."

She held up a digit, "Let me finish." She waited until he was silent, "Repairing him was the easy part even though it took longer than I expected, it was finding and retrieving his consciousness from the Matrix that was the hard part." They stopped.

"That scream?"

"Was Jazz, not me." Sparkle shifted her high heeled feet, "I've… actually never done something like that before. I'm not sure if what I did was right."

"What do you mean 'not right'? You brought back a great friend and comrade. Why is that not right?"

"Primus might think otherwise." She looked away for a moment then back, "I was meant to create, Ratchet. Not resurrect. I don't know what sort of consequences will befall me or Jazz for that matter." Her pink optics were downcast, some inner battle going on behind them.

"Is it so bad to want to make someone not of our race happy?" Ratchet was caught off guard by the question, "I know I haven't spent much time with Diana, but I felt the need to."

"No, it's not." Ratchet assured her, "I don't think Primus would begrudge you for wanting to help others. It's what I do everyday, it's what Optimus and the others do. Why are these sort of thoughts coming to you?"

Sparkle opened her vocals to respond but stopped when Diana walked in chewing on a sandwich, Zan sitting on top of her head glaring at a lemon he was holding. The drone suddenly thought the lemon had insulted him and threw it at the floor. He chased after the escapee clicking and beeping.

"Yeah show that lemon who's boss!" Diana encouraged. Zan beeped and backed away when the lemon rolled to a stop. He growled at it and circled it like the fruit was going to attack at any moment.

"Did you talk to Stalker?" Sparkle asked.

"Oh about the swimming thing?" Diana looked up at the giants.

Ratchet felt his pump skip a cycle.

"Yes I did in fact, it's all good now. But now I haven't seen him for a few hours now… in fact I haven't seen Jazz either." Her attention was diverted to the floor when Zan held up the lemon with a distinct 'tada!' sound, "Good job Zan, you caught the lemon again! Better make sure it doesn't escape this time!" the drone nodded excitedly and ran off to find an appropriate prison for the delinquent in his digits.

The yellow mech accessed the communications line, "Ratchet to Jazz, please come in."

"_s'up Doc?"_

"Diana here was wondering where Stalker was, have you seen him? He's particularly hard to get a hold of even when he's in the same base."

"_He said he had something to do for Diana in Tranquility and asked me for a ride. Why, is there anything wrong?"_

_Slag!_ Ratchet opened another channel, "Optimus we have a situation."

**OOO**

**. Oh dear! Stalker's doing a no no! Well I wouldn't care. Die evil character! Uuuhh… got nothing else to say 'bout this chap. Except maybe I should go do my homework before I have to go to my job….. NNYYUUU!! I DUN WANNA DO MY HOMEWORK!! –sobs in a corner- I wanna start typing the next chap!**

**Or even finish Sparkle's art! Gah! Why must coloring armor be so hard?! –bangs head on keyboard-**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are the love!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Mmkay, I'm gonna start drawing Stalker but it's going to take awhile, so bare with me. I also have an independent art class that has mondo projects due so that doesn't help any. –sobs- I want to draw my Stalker!**

**Oh, even though this fic is based in November there will be a Halloween chapter to look forward to. **

**Chapter 15:**

With spybot confirmation, the Autobots were able to view the bloody scene without needing to access the police records.

As police hunkered down discussing in quiet tones around the body, the spybot adjusted its camera angle taking in everything from their cell phone discussions to their assumptions. All of which were more farfetched than the next.

Blood was trailed and splattered from the Jacuzzi to the kitchen where gun shells had burned into the floor. The victim had forced himself over the counter and had tried to get out through the front door but whatever had attacked him had stopped him. Major muscles had been cut, it looked like the man had been left to bleed out but the attacker hadn't been finished. From what the coroner could decipher on site the many punctures in the Fletcher's skull had been while he was still alive, like something had gripped his head and slowly burned holes into them. If that hadn't been enough then the loss of the male's genitals had killed him, burned off with an unknown heat source.

The spybot received the command that its job was finished and ended the footage and headed back to the base.

Optimus Prime shook his head and leaned heavily on the console he'd been using to guide the spybot. Vents released hot air building inside of his frame, a huge sigh.

Sitting on the table detained, unable to transform or use any of his equipment was Stalker. His sleek black and green frame still dripping with the rich red blood of the sick man that had been on the screen a few microts ago. The attachment kept his head low, not daring to look at the commander. Behind him he heard Jazz shift his weight, what the lieutenant was thinking Stalker could only imagine.

The huge flame painted mech turned around and faced the culprit, "Why?"

_Slag._ That word that _one_ word that he hadn't wanted to hear.

Stalker's spines pricked up as did his eyes, he straightened up, "Why is a good question, Commander Prime." He shrunk bank a little when the other's grim expression didn't change, "To be honest Commander... I-I honestly don't know the exact reason."

"Stalker," Optimus said slowly, "You're function as an assassin is well earned, but to use your abilities carelessly especially when the tensions are still very high with our hosts is not like an intelligent Autobot like you."

"I know, sir."

"Then explain yourself." His tone was final. Either speak or forever be a toaster.

Stalker's processor's whirled through the events prior to this event. The fall, the rejuvenation, the friendship, Diana's laugh. Especially her laugh, his partner's smiling face was all he wanted to see. Next to hers was Shadow's all the time it seemed. He suddenly had an image of all three of them sitting and enjoying the sunlight of Earth's star. Shadow leaned back with his hands laced between his head, perhaps complaining that the local shrubbery was getting between his joints. Diana off to one side coordinating a new dance routine, singing along with her Ipod, her pure voice soothing his sonics.

Stalker shook his head vigorously. No time for daydreaming, he was in a serious position of consequence at the moment. He looked up at his leader, "I only wanted to return a favor."

Optimus continued to loom over the 'Bot for a few moments longer. The silence in the room allowing the gears inside the mech's head to be heard. Whirring and beeping, analyzing the information that had just been passed on to him.

"What favor was that exactly?"

Stalker resisted the urge to buzz his annoyance. These were questions he had difficulty answering himself. Only Diana held those memories… all he had was the feeling she'd left in his cloud of mourning.

Optimus however was a patient sentient and allowed him time to toss the jumbled words around till they were in order.

"What're they saying Bumblebee?" Diana whispered from where she stood at his foot. They were at the far end of the hall peaking around the corner, first Bee's head, then Arcee, Diana and then Zan's head could be seen poking out if one looked down the hallway.

The camaro's optics narrowed in frustration, "Something about flavors?"

"And you call yourself a scout?!" Arcee snorted.

Bee shrugged his giant shoulders, "What can I say? My decoding algorithms are still under repair and they're using a jammer in that room."

"Ain't you supposed to be able to get passed all that security?" Diana looked straight up at the yellow 'Bot.

Bee reached around and poked the human hard, "I just came out of a restoration pod from a head injury! Give me a break."

"Nah you're too cute to give a break." Diana grinned.

"I thought I was the cute one."

All four entities jumped horribly at the sound of Jazz's voice. The silver mech was standing with his arms crossed giving them a look of _'what the frag are ya doin'?_'

Zan squeaked, suddenly remembering that there were consoles that needed repairing and scampered off. Arcee muttered something about patrol and Bumblebee said he was just on his way to see Ratchet.

Diana however stayed her ground looking defiantly up at the Autobot. Sure he was shorter than Bee but there was a reason that the mech was second in command.

"What's crackin'?"

"That's mah line girl."

"I said it first."

"No, I did. You just weren't there."

"In this conversation I did."

"Doesn' count."

"Does to."

Jazz sighed, "Look little spark, I know you feel that you've the right to know what's goin' on with your partner but this goes beyond your friendship."

"What's beyond friendship?"

"Our race's continued friendship with your government. Stalker crossed a fine line today, not even _I_ am certain what will happen."

"What did he do?"

"That's between you and him." Jazz glanced behind him to see that the two were still absorbed in their discussion.

"It looks like they're goin' to be a while…" she pouted.

"Here," Jazz reverted to his alt and popped open his passenger door. His hologram flickered into existence.

"Where're we goin'?" Diana asked before climbing in.

"Somewhere to pass the time."

"Ooooki doki."

The Pontiac Solstice drove out of the bowels of the concrete enclosure to the front entrance where the sun was setting over the Nevada desert. The snow had long since melted away by the warm spell they'd been blessed with. Below the river glowed from the setting sun as molten gold would.

Diana stepped out taking in a deep breath of the fresh air. She stretched her hands toward the sky until her bones popped softly.

"I been meanin' to ask ya, why did you decide to leave your family to join us Autobots? Aren't you worried about how they're fairin'?" the Pontiac asked.

"Nope, they can survive without me."

"You know what I meant."

"Dude does it matter why anymore? You're alive, Stalker's not about to die, and it looks like Ratchet's getting a girlfriend because of my being here."

"You don't take a lot of things seriously…"

Diana chuckled and leaned over the cement railing for a better look at the gushing river below, "I take things seriously when need be. But to be honest Jazz, I don't like to put my reasons into words. When you add words to a feeling, the entire context of it changes it seems like." She turned, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet, caressing the air with her hands as a thread of music played in her mind, "My feelings would be chained down by the anchor that is words."

"I think I understand."

"Good." Diana smiled.

Suddenly Zan leaped onto Jazz's hood beeping in insistence.

"Hey! You're ruining the paint job!" the Autobot shook the drone off with a huff.

"What's wrong Zan?" Diana asked as it tugged on her pant leg. She followed the drone to what had been the base's old cafeteria and where they stocked the human essentials now. Jazz couldn't fit through the door so he settled for just kneeling and watching.

Zan leaped onto the table and pointed frantically at a lemon.

"What's wrong? Is it being bad again?" Diana picked up the sour fruit and realized how hard and cold it was. She let out a greatly exaggerated gasp, "Zan! You're a bad Prison Warden you know that?"

He whirred, tilting his head.

"You put this poor lemon in the freezer! That's why!"

The drone jumped up and down squealing in panic, suddenly forgetting all ill comments he and the lemon had spewed at each other.

Jazz shook his head in amusement. He'd never really paid much attention to drones, but they seemed to have just as much personality in their limited minds as a regular transformer.

O

It was another four hours before Stalker made an appearance. By now the blood was crusty on his armor and possibly staining. The 'Bot still had the restrictive collar on so he couldn't use any of his equipment or even transform until Optimus removed the collar himself. The supply hanger where he could maybe find something to clean himself off, he didn't want Diana to see him like this. Looking like he'd just walked through a slaughter house was not appealing to him.

As swiftly as he could while maintaining raw stealth, the attachment made his way to the target area and began digging around for a cleaning agent that he knew was somewhere in the many cubical crates.

"Ah ha! Caught ya red handed!"

Stalker whirled around to see his partner, "Wha-? How did-?"

"Dude, that's what my other Autobot friends are for."

"Oh." Stalker felt himself shrink slightly, feeling embarrassed for being so gory looking.

"So does this stuff work on blood stains?" Diana snatched the blue spherical container out of his digits and examining it.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

Diana looked at him, "Ask what?"

"Why I'm all bloody."

"Nope." She grabbed a few more spheres than was needed for just him, "Come on my shadowy friend you need a good cleaning."

Stalker tilted his head in confusion but he didn't have time to contemplate Diana's lack of interest for she was already dragging him along to her sleeping quarters.

Inside there was a skylight to allow sunlight in and a small side window. A mattress had been set up in a corner and her clothes were folded neatly on a table that served as her dresser. Despite its bareness there was one perk to the room and that was that it had its own bathroom. Probably it had been a corner office for a higher up when the base was serving its original purpose.

Zan was sitting on the table with a sports bra tied around his head. The drone was playing Poker with an orange. He glared over the top of his hand, making sure that the orange wasn't hiding any aces underneath the plate it was sitting on.

"Uh, Diana, this stuff doesn't require water." Stalker tried to pull himself free but his weight couldn't counter hers enough to make a difference.

She was humming to a tune with one earbud, "I know." Still holding on to Stalker's wrist joint, she reached into the walk-in and turned on the water.

"I'm perfectly capable of cleaning myself you know."

"I know." She took him by the neck and underneath his spark chamber.

"Then why are youaaagh!" Stalker crashed onto the floor of the shower after Diana had picked him up and tossed him inside. He shook his head flinging water and remoisterized blood all over the walls. Indeed the blood had badly stained his armor to rusty black. Baffled at this turn of events he stood up in time to have Diana join him, having stripped down to her blue two piece bathing suit underneath.

She grinned, "Bath time!" she plugged in his extension into his visible jack, forcing him to play Jem. She then picked up two of the spheres and cracked it open above his head like an egg.

Reacting to the heavily moist air the nanytes exploded into a silvery curtain, drenching the two in a shimmering blanket. Diana laughed as she gathered up a hand full of the now glowing water and rubbed Stalker's face with it.

Totally perplexed, Stalker just stood there staring while she rubbed the nanytes where ever they wouldn't have reached without the water.

"Uh… Diana?" Stalker squeaked unintentionally when she rubbed the crevice where his spark chamber would've opened. It was a pleasant sensation that she left actually. No where near the stimulation a fembot might've given but it was good.

"Mmm?"

"Eh… hehe… why are you doing this?"

She wiped away the shimmering wet locks of hair from her face, "Well you guys have been warring since B.C.! You deserve a little pampering right? Plus I like how the nanytes glow, I just love sparklies! Best way to shower ever!" she poked the crevice that had caused Stalker to squeak. She grinned mischievously when he flinched away, "Are Transformers ticklish?"

"No."

"Really?" she inched closer to him.

"Really." Stalker pinned back his ear antennae then tried to escape his partner's grasp.

Zan was too busy arguing with the orange over who had the better Poker face to notice the squeaks and clicks erupted from Stalker as he was given the tickle torture.

"S-stop stop! Diana please!" the attachment managed to say between fits.

She let go, "Now that is just brilliant! Transformers are ticklish! Hmmm I wonder if Jazz has a tickle spot…"

Stalker kept his vocals shut, his spark chamber had heated up considerably from her tickling leaving trembling with joy.

"Hey what do ya know you can shout stains out." Diana knelt to examine any places on his thin legs she might've missed. But the water was doing what she expected which was slipping the nanytes into the hard to reach places. She didn't like the little machines when they were running around under her skin but the clean sensation they left on top of her skin was very refreshing.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

Diana turned her face into the shower's stream cracking the last sphere and allowing the silver wave to wash over her. Stalker couldn't help but stare as the human's body glisten like quicksilver. Even the pale battle scars that circled her body didn't avert from her beauty as a young female.

_Taking opinions now?_ Shadow's sarcasm interrupted Stalker's moment and his faceplates frowned.

"Wish I had known Ratchet last year." Diana faced her partner and pointed at surgical scars left by her ordeal, "Then these would've been fading as fast as these others." She rinsed off the last of the nanytes and also hosed Stalker down. His armor gleaming as bright and colorful as a freshly painted car (well as colorful as black and green get).

Zan was waiting just outside the glass door having lost the card game. At first he was unnoticed since he was covered with Diana's towel.

"Nerd face, what is the towel trying to kid nap you now?" she plucked it up and started drying her hair.

The drone shook a tiny fist beeping.

"Oh I get it the orange made a bet and you lost."

'ya.' he nodded.

Stalker shuddered before stepping out of the shower, casting off all the water. He unplugged his extension and set it on the sink counter. His spark was still tingling from the human's gentle touch.

"Well that was… an interesting experience." He had a towel thrown over his head.

"What're you talkin' about? Every day is an interesting experience with an alien!" Diana grabbed a few new pairs of clothing and changed behind a screen provided by Zack when they'd first found the room. Zan hopped onto the table and growled at the orange, demanding a rematch, double or nothing!

"Indeed." He watched Diana drag her mattress across the floor until it was under the beam of light coming from the sky light. She lay on her back and patted the spot next to her. Stalker lay next to her.

Frost was collecting on the edges of the window, slowly creeping across the glass as the night progressed. Only silent words passed between the two, occasionally interrupted by Zan's chirping as he played Mau with the orange.

"Is it so wrong that I can't remember much of how we got together? The only things I really remember clearly are that I was happy to befriend you."

"Don't push yourself. And I'm not saying that because Ratchet said so. I say that because memories are fragile. Kind of… like a spider web. Blow and it'll stay even if it's a hurricane, but poke it with flaming frustration and it'll melt away."

"You're full of interesting analogies."

"Of course," she blew on her nails and rubbed them on her chest, "and in my honest and humble but correct opinion I'm right." Her smile was only momentary, "What you went through was painful. Of course you would go through a time where all you wanted was to mourn and it's ok to mourn."

They continued to look at the stars. Diana didn't see the movement of galaxies like Stalker did, she saw only a vast sparkling expanse that had brought her one of the best things in the universe.

"You wanna know why I didn't need to ask?" out of the corner of her peripheral she saw his ears perk, "I had a dream you would do what you did."

"You what?"

Diana shrugged, her eyes were drooping. Stalker could literally see her bodily functions slowing down. The hot shower having washed away every worry and tension left from the day. Stalker allowed his optics to dim, stasis wasn't far away for him either. He glanced at Diana to see she was already dozing. Moving gently so that he would disturb her as little as possible, pulling the blanket over both of them and settled down for the night.

"Diana?"

"Mm?"

"I hope we will always have this."

A smile touched the edge of her lips, "Me too."

Before falling into complete stasis, Stalker's thoughts strayed to the thought of Shadow returning again just like Jazz had. The possibility brought a mixture of hurt and pleasure to the Autobot as most of his systems idled down.

O

Bumblebee trudged down one of the many corridors with no particular destination in mind. His head was still throbbing with pain but his regenerative abilities were steadily correcting the neurological damage. He'd been lucky, had Barricade's round penetrated his thick metal defense another inch he would've been dead. _Stupid stupid mistake you fraggin' idiot. Turn your back on an enemy bigger and stronger than you._ Bee growled in a low tone. It was a mistake he didn't want to make again.

Lost deep in his thoughts, Bee suddenly realized he was walking down one of the side halls to the place where he'd been held captive. The memory of them slowly freezing him still fresh and alive with pain in his mind. He turned to leave and noticed a small movement down at the very end of the half mile long passage way. Curious, Bee decided to investigate. The camaro lowered himself flat on the ground so that he could see into the room.

Arcee was standing in front of a heavily damaged box.

"Arcee?"

The fembot glanced over her shoulder at him.

"Is something wrong?"

She turned around and held up an offlined Transformer for him to see. A closer examination revealed it had once been a Nokia cell phone.

"It wasn't even given a chance." Her voice was small and quiet, "I accessed old video logs from the base's old computers. Bumblebee, they've killed so many sparklings in this room."

Bumblebee wasn't sure of what to do in this situation. He may be the last youngling but all of his tact was for the battle field. Fighting was really all he knew. Anything social had been with his elders and none of them fembots. Then a distant memory came to Bee. He remembered overhearing Optimus talking about someone known as Elita One. When he'd asked, the commander told him that she was his sparkmate once upon a time. He'd told Bee that if there was one thing about fembots when they were upset it was that it was best to distract them in some way, or if that didn't work just be there for them, talk with them about what they was distressing them.

"Arcee? Have you ever Built?"

The marksman looked up in surprise at the question, "Why?"

Bee shrugged, "Um, I've never seen you behave this way… uh I just was curious."

Arcee put the dead Transformer back into the box, "Once."

"Oh."

"My sparkmate was killed trying to defend us fembots. My sparkling died when I couldn't control his panic from the attack." Arcee explained.

"I-I don't know what to say." Bumblebee scooted backward to give the fembot room as she exited the room.

"Then don't say anything." She looked up at him, "Besides, it was a long time ago." She cleared her vocals and straightened up, "It's no good dwelling on the past too much." Arcee placed a hand on his broad shoulder, "It's late, let's get some rest." She turned and headed for her sleeping quarters.

Bumblebee watched her then as Diana would say: 'A brain child was born', "Wait, Arcee!"

She looked back at him.

"Wanna go for a joy ride? It's night and cold enough that no humans in their right mind would be stumbling around the desert. So we'd have the entire driving range to ourselves." The fembot just raised one metal brow considering his peculiar request. Bumblebee did his best not to fumble around uncomfortably for the silence was unbearable.

"Sure, why not." She stretched, "I could use a good drive." She laughed when she saw Bee perk up at her acceptance.

O

Jazz leaned back in his chair with a portion of medium grade in one hand, he crossed his legs on the table.

Ratchet stomped in, sat down heavily and slammed his head on the table with a loud _bang!_

"The twins again?" Jazz asked.

"Among other things."

"Here, this'll relax your circuits." Jazz reached into the container next to him and pulled out a high grade cube. The medic took the shot and downed it in one swig.

The mech buzzed a moment from the overflow of Energon before setting the empty cube down, "How is Stalker?" he asked, feeling a slight bit better.

"Optimus is understanding, but angry. I think most of the time they spent was talking to the local squishies keeping an eye on us. The little 'Bot's under restriction for the time being." He sipped his grade.

"He goes to such great lengths for someone he's just met."

"Ah don't give em a hard time about it." Jazz sat up straight, "Sometimes the deepest bonds are the shortest."

_Short is right, she probably won't live past ninety earth years…_ Ratchet shook his head in dismay. That amount of time was a blink of an optic to a Transformer, he could only imagine the renewed torment that Stalker would go through when his friend passed away of old age, if she even survived another Decepitocon assault that is.

Jazz stretched his joints, "Well, I'm gonna go hit n' the sack."

"You don't sleep in a sack, Jazz."

"Oh stuff it old man, you know what I meant." The two chuckled and bid each other farewell.

When Jazz exited the room he had to bounce around on one foot in order to avoid stepping on Zan who was running passed and being followed by a levitating drone the Pontiac had never seen before. The drone in question was Sparkle's and Diana had dubbed it Sparkie. Zan squeaked at the silver giant before scuttling off.

Jazz watched the two disappear into the darkness. He shook his head wondering what the two were up to. Normally drones had strict schedules because of their critical need for Energon consumption on time. He didn't understand why no one had put little Zan on one.

Not in any hurry, Jazz meandered down a few wrong halls on purpose, examining what had been Megatron's prison for… what was it eighty years? Jazz shrugged it off, not really caring. Now what had been a well hidden prison and research facility was their fortified base, right under most human's noses at that.

Walking down one of the half mile long hallways, Jazz suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Was someone whispering?

The mech glanced around only to see that the shadows were keeping him company. It wasn't organic, it sounded like garbled Cybertronian at a very low volume. Jazz walked to the first break in the hall and glanced both ways.

Nope, nobody. Not even Zan.

The Autobot turned all of his sensors inward running a self diagnostic, if he was malfunctioning in any way he wanted to get it repaired quickly. He didn't want to end up packed inside a coffin pod for a very long time.

A few minutes of checking revealed there was nothing wrong that he could detect.

"_Come here cretin…"_

Spark imploding with fear Jazz whipped around with his shield gun at the ready. The hauntingly familiar voice had been loud. Loud enough that it sounded like the owner had been right next to him.

"What the frag?" slowly, slowly Jazz lowered his weapon.

"…_don't deserve to live."_

Again Jazz stiffened, fear ridden Energon pumping through his circuits so fast that he started twitching. The mech grabbed his shaking arm trying to steady himself. Perhaps the trauma was catching up to him. Jazz shook himself trying to get rid of the creeping feeling that was snaking through his frame. Suddenly the huge hallways seemed darker, longer and more daunting. As if suddenly he was a sparkling lost in a restricted area.

_Maybe I just need some rest… yeah yeah that's just what I need. I haven't slept since I woke up from the dead anyway._

At first he walked, then trotted, then outright ran with all the might and agility that he could muster from his body and beyond. The fragmented messages faded in and out, at first far away then chased him till they were next to his ear.

Jazz let out a high pitched mechanical scream that echoed mockingly back at him as he clawed at his head trying in vain to shut out the last voice that he'd heard before he'd been ripped in half.

A heavy hand gripped his shoulder trying to stop his wailing. Jazz saw that the digits weren't dull and friendly but long and lanky and sharper than the finest blade on earth.

Yelping in explosive horror the lieutenant whirled around and fired until his plasma cannon overheated. Megatron merely laughed at him and reached for Jazz.

Jazz stumbled backwards and fell on his aft. He tried to put as much distance between him and Megatron as possible but a thick concrete wall stopped his retreat. Inside his chest his spark was whirling and flaring with absolute dread, burning against the sides of his chamber as if trying to escape. Jazz swiped at Megatron when the giant mech leaned down to pick him up and suddenly the apparition was gone.

Silence. Pure unadulterated silence filled the air.

After a moment of staring where the High Lord had just been standing, Jazz staggered to his feet. He skirted the wall that was now smoldering from his frantic flurry of rounds and ran.

Partially hidden in the shadows, Sparkle watched the lieutenant scurry away from his nightmares. She sighed, _this might've just turned out to be a horrific mistake. I wish Spektra were here to guide me… but then again if she were here I wouldn't be standing here._ The Cybertronian mulled over the giant white transformer that was her superior. Spektra probably would've warned her against raising the dead back from the Matrix.

The red and gold mech walked slowly up to the smoldering wall examining it with her optics as if it held the answers she was seeking. There were so many things she'd been unable to really experience while trapped as an observer in the silo back home. The others had always said she was always the one short on patience. Always the one quick to jump to act. She snorted in annoyance, well her quick thinking had landed her at Earth first. So now they had nothing to brag about.

Suddenly an encoded signal of Decepticon origin reached her encephalin. It was a summoning.

_They've probably figured it out… knowing them._

Sparkle exited the base and flew to the designated coordinates. Sand billowed out as she landed, sending all manner of debri and fauna flying from her shockwave.

A giant mechanoid spider stood on a few boulders not far away, standing next to him was Starscream. She suspected that there was another scurrying about in the shadows. In the east a false dawn had already begun.

"You called?"

"We've determined what you are, Sparkle." Turantulas said.

"And what have you determined?"

Starscream stepped forward, "Legends are few among us but all carry a measure of credit. These dimwitted Autobots are probably still don't suspect that you are one of the Allspark's Avatars. Capable of bearing sparks and… potentially bringing our race back from the dead."

Sparkle clapped her hands together three times, "Congratulations, you've put a label on me. Is there anything else you'd like me to hear?" _Getting sassy eh Sparkle? It must be almost time…_

"We'd like to request a sparking from you."

"Such a bold request." Sparkle's back shafts spun, closed and blossomed, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you, Decepticon."

"Hmph, are you sure that is a wise thing to do?" Turantulas lifted his front four legs slightly, a motion that he was ready to pounce.

"I don't give sparks to factions. Factions are what's keeping this war ongoing. The hatred and grudges bred from years of discrimination created by Megatron. And besides…" suddenly she whipped around pulling out her spear. Blackarachnia immediately stopped having a humming spear tip scraping the edge of her neck, "… my purpose isn't to be a brood fembot." _Come on come on!_ Sparkle thought frantically, she didn't understand why the Allspark would give them such limited capabilities before the peak of their power came.

"You're outnumbered Avatar… if the legends are correct then all we have to do is sit here and wait."

"Something I don't feel like doing." Sparkle bent and swung her spear in a circle, extending its death reach by another ten feet and sending the Decepticons scattering. The spiderbots hissed and shot glowing threads of poison at the fembot. The nanytes splattered in the air as the Cybertronian spun her weapon taking a defensive position. Swiftly Sparkle got herself out of the triangle of death, making sure that all three Decepticons were in her line of sight.

Sand erupted from underneath her feet as Skorpanok attempted to latch onto her leg, making flight impossible. But the scorpion mech was knocked away with a hard swipe from the red mech's spear.

_Frag… this is going to be a long night…_Sparkle heard the whir of helicopter blades as Skorpnanok's host made his appearance. Thundercracker soared overhead and Starscream leaped into the air transforming to join his battle partner. _A very long night…_ The sphere suspended in the middle of her blade began revving with energy. As the Decepticons closed in, Sparkle shoved the spear head into the ground causing a huge red shockwave of energy to plume into the night sky.

**OOO**

**Daww a chapter full of Stalker and Diana goodness. I must say, I wasn't expecting the chapter to come out this way. Holy crap! I wasn't expecting to make it this long! I had to revise it sooo many times before I was satisfied! O.O Gah! Time for homework again! –is dragged away-**

**Anyways, thank you in advance for the reviews! They are the love!**


	16. Chapter 16Happy Halloween

**Thank you ****ranko lina Inverse,****Elita One**** and ****swift hunter**** for the adds!**

**A/N: Autey (which I can't spell correctly so I based my spelling on how it sounds) means 'Big Sister' in Tagaloug, ading means little sister or brother, depending on how it's used in the language**

**So here be the Halloween chapter. Time line wise this is perhaps a few days after Stalker kills the psychotic rapist. Halloween originated in several different countries, so I just picked the first bits of info I came across.**

**Happy Halloween! Have fun and be safe!**

**No song lyrics I use are owned by me.**

**I know POV switches a lot even if Diana's telling the story but bare with me peoples. **

**Chapter 16:**

Arcee skipped down the halls of the base humming a little earth tune, ignoring the look Ironhide gave her as she flew by. Ironhide knew his ward, and Arcee wasn't one to bounce around like a sparkling unless…

She scanned the place for her friends locations and found with exceptional pleasure that Diana was by herself in the main chamber while her partner was helping Zan with a malfunctioning console in the OR. What a multitalented Autobot, despite his specialty as an assassin he was also knowledgeable about Cybertronian mechanics as well. It was unusual because normally Transformers stuck to their born type.

The marksman entered the chamber to find Diana listening to her music and doing elaborate stretching exercises.

"Hello Dia!"

The half Filipino pulled one earbud out, "What?"

"I just greeted you." Arcee sat next to her, "I just looked up all I could about Halloween and frankly it confuses me."

Diana laughed, "Oh the whole concept of why we celebrate witches and wizards and Satan and all that jazz?"

"Yeah it doesn't seem to make sense! Why worship things not good?"

Diana was stuck a moment in the middle of her stretch then finally managed to pull herself up, "Well, if I remember correctly that's just a stereotypical view of it. Really it's a holiday called 'All Hallows Eve' or something like that from … was it Gaelic or Irish? Anyway it celebrated their harvest season, and - ."

"-Immigrants brought Samhaim to the western world and it caught on and hence forth has become what it is today." Arcee finished having accessed the available information more thoroughly this time.

"Right." _What the hell is 'Samhaim'?_

Arcee's blue eyes narrowed mischievously, "Before we were so rudely interrupted you mentioned something about Stalker and Halloween."

The young lady grinned widely, "Ah I see where this is goin'. Arcee you just love to get dirt on your fellows don't you?"

The fembot leaned forward lowering her volume, "Hey it's good for blackmailing if I need it, hanging around with only guys most of your life you have to do these things, ya know?"

"I completely understand."

"So you won't mind elaborating on your experience?"

"Only on the condition that you'll show me Stalker's face when he finds out I spilled the beans on him." She held out her hand to seal the exchange, "Ok, so you know that I wasn't exactly Princess Compassionate when we first met…"

OO

Having now graduated the 11th grade and now back at the top of the school totem pole Diana was busy entering her senior year with a lot more than SAT's, scholarships and what college she would go to. The little alien that had possessed her boombox had not left her alone. Several times over the summer she'd tried to get him to leave but the Autobot as he called himself was stubborn. It kept asking for her help and after much popping up in rather inconvenient places (such as in the middle of a party or at the movies while she and her friends were watching a horror film plus had even walked in once when she was at school, luckily the hall had been empty) she'd given in and told the little stalking gremlin that she'd help him if he'd just stop stalking her!

"S-stalker. You-u can call m-me that." The 'Bot had said, obviously still heavily damaged. He'd told her that it was appropriate considering what his function was.

Diana sighed heavily watching the orange and black lights blur with the scenery. She flicked to another song on her Ipod, one that was mellow to match her mood. People everywhere were ready for the night of frights and she still hadn't finished her costume. One of her friends had asked her to perform at a local Halloween dance party and on top of that had a certain someone to deal with.

Her backpack twitched and fell on the floor with an audible _thunk!_ Which caused a few of the other riders to glance in her direction. Whirs and hisses started to sound.

Diana slammed her foot down, keeping it on her backpack and immediately the attempted transformation was aborted. She smiled sweetly to the other passengers who gave her an odd look but didn't say anything. She rolled her eyes. _You're _not_ ripping another bag!_ The young lady hoped the malice she thought reached the alien.

The crisp October air bit her cheeks when she exited the city bus and walked the rest of her way home. Even bundled up in her layers it didn't help that her face felt like it was going to fall off at any moment. The air had just enough moisture in it that it was a heavy nuisance on the skin.

"I'm home!" she announced, kicking off her shoes and shedding her chilled clothing. At first the heat from the house was stifling but the smell of the Filipino dish called Lumpia made up for that.

(A/N: Lumpia is basically a fried eggroll with meat and vegetables in it, the taste varies on what meat and/or veggies are put in it)

"How was your day?" Evelyn Shae asked as she pulled the Lumpia out of the deep fryer with tongs.

Diana kissed her mom's cheek, "Ok I guess." She snagged five of the lumpias and a dish of sweet sauce.

"Hey where are you going? You just came in!"

"I have to finish my costume mom! Mari is coming over soon to help and the party's tomorrow! Sorry!" Diana genuinely was, ever since senior year had started time with her family had been sparse. Having an alien as your boombox wasn't helping matters any.

Diana jumped onto her bed to close the curtains, taking note for the umpteenth time that she felt like she was being watched. Frowning, she closed the blinds and hurried to release the Stalker from her bag before he ripped it apart.

The Autobot's transformation was less than smooth, several parts either locked in place or shuddered dangerously. Stalker stood up as straight as the pain allowed. Some of his back plates were out of line. His internal repairs were functioning but it seemed that nothing was healing correctly. The entity sparked when he twitched.

"Jeez, you look like an undead gremlin." Diana commented as she cleared her floor to make room for the material she'd bought.

"I've seen better days… that's for sure." Stalker squinted trying to focus his optics, "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for tomorrow, what does it look like?"

"Looks like your laying out blue dyed fabric."

"Psh! Literal minded…" Diana decided to cut off herself at that point, "So… I found a site today that said something about unusual sightings in California and Nevada."

"What sort of sightings?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. The site crashed before I could read the rest of the blog entry. But it was recent, as in last year this guy is claiming there was alien activity in some city. I'll focus my search on those two states." Diana was surprised when Stalker placed a sharp clawed hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you, I must say again I'm sorry for mak-king you do this for me. I still can't… I still can't use my digital abilities very well." His actual voice was still slightly fragmented, but his tone was soft and genuine at the same time heavy.

"Eh… your welcome. I still don't like you though." Immediately Diana felt a stab of guilt pierce her heart. She frowned and slammed the black lace onto the floor. _Get a grip! Girl this alien could easily turn around and go on a killing spree!_ She glanced at the 'Bot, despite being friendly his looks were that of a demon. His sleek, slim build was riddled with spines, his claws were sharp enough to slice cleanly through flesh. No way could this ferocious looking thing be a good guy!

_I think I've been watching too much Anime…_ Diana sighed. _Well, there's always the 'more than meets the eye' thing. Like don't judge a book by its cover…_ she snuck a glance back at Stalker (who was sitting now, unable to hold his weight very long) and couldn't help but think of the monster book from Rowling's Harry Potter.

Stalker reverted back to his alt when Mari came to help her friend finish her outfit. Diana planned to be dressed as Lenne the Songstress from FF 10-2. It was appropriate since she was going to be singing on stage.

"I can't believe everyone's making me into a local music idol… I mean honestly! All I did was get first place at the city's talent show. Just because I can dance and sing at the same time…. Pshh! I liked the martial arts people, they freakin' broke bricks with one inch penetration!" Diana ranted, bouncing her foot to the beat of the song being played by the local radio station.

"You are so ungrateful of your talents!" Mari was tempted to poke her friend with the needle she was trying to thread, "I would give _anything_ to get the attention you're getting."

"Ok, switch bodies right now!"

"Ew! No thanks."

The girls laughed.

"I don't think I wanna give up my blonde-ness that much!" Mari began to sew on the lace to the shirt.

Stalker listened carefully to their conversation. He found that the more he listened the easier it was to communicate and learn if anything about human sociology. A lot confused him and he guessed that was because he'd need to know the other side's story. Stalker's inner musings were quickly snuffed out when he realized the topic of the current conversation.

"…what'd you do? Kick it down the stairs?" Mari was asking, poking the boombox.

"No, it's just getting old." Diana lied.

"Why not toss it and get a new one?"

"I've seriously considered that taking into account recent events…"

"…_You can slap me in the face  
You can scream profanity  
Leave me here to die alone but  
I'll still follow you home  
I'll still follow you home"_

Diana calmly slammed her fist on the lid causing a small beep of pain and instantly the original signal was restored, "Like it randomly starting to scan." Stalker felt the human's glare as if a sun flare had grazed his surface.

Mari gave her friend a strange look, "Ooooki doki. You aren't gonna bring it to the party right? I know it's your good luck charm but there's gonna be a lot of people there with sticky fingers."

"No I'm just gonna leave it home where it should _behave_ like a good boombox."

_I refuse to stay cramped up like this for six hours on end!_ Perhaps if Stalker wasn't so badly damaged he wouldn't mind as much.

"Ok let's start trying these pieces on."

"Just a sec." Diana picked up Stalker and set him outside her door.

"Hey what're you doing?"

"Good point…" Diana felt uncomfortable undressing in front of Stalker… even if he was an alien, "Danny! You can use my boombox for now ok!" she called.

_Oh no you didn't…_Stalker wanted to transform and escape right then. At the moment Diana's little brother had a few of his paint happy friends over.

Danny came flying up the stairs flanked by a little girl with pigtails, "Really Autey?"

"Yes ading, make it all pretty for Halloween for me ok? Just don't use the permanent paints." Diana smirked as her brother the future artist squealed in delight at the opportunity.

Stalker however wasn't pleased, he'd seen pieces of the younger sibling's art works. He couldn't comprehend how decorating a piece of paper with watery colors was any form of art. In fact Danny's displays didn't represent anything but random splotches mixed together.

"We have to do a good job Danny! Your sister _never_ let's you do this to her stuff!" Katie, Danny's third grade partner in crime said as she dug into his toy box for his paint set.

"I know!" Danny replied in exasperation, "Let's see…" there were sounds of several wooden brushes clacking together. Stalker couldn't see in his alt form, not even with scanners because of his damage. But what he heard wasn't comforting in the least. He resisted the urge to flinch when he felt cold wet bristles touch his surface.

"No Katie! I don't like rainbows!"

"Oh come on! It's for your sister!"

"But she said decorate it for Halloween! Halloween is scary! Not pretty!"

"How 'bout broken hearts?"

"Ok broken hearts is fine… not too much pink! Dawww you spilt it!"

"Sorry, these cups are too big for my fingers!"

…_.they dare put _pink_ on my armor?! I am _NOT _a fraggin' fembot!_

There was a heavy groan, "Now it can't be scary lookin'!"

"Yes it can… it's thick right here… let's add those bat sparkles you have." More shuffling.

_Bat sparkles?_

The younglings giggled at something.

The giggles escalated to out right laughter causing them to roll around on the floor. Stalker could feel some paint leak through his speakers and instantly shut them off to prevent anymore from coming in.

"No no no! Put more here!" Katie pressed against his side smearing more of the minerals all across his alt form. The paint that had seeped in was starting to itch between his joints and it took all of Stalker's will power to not move.

_Primus! Strike me down now!_

The children continue to giggle and snort until someone summoned them from downstairs. He heard Danny knock on his sisters door telling her he was done and thanks before disappearing downstairs. Another door opened and footsteps approached him.

He heard Diana snicker.

"Don't move… the paint still needs to dry and we got guests downstairs." Diana was struggling to keep her laughter in.

_What? What?! Hitting me isn't enough you'd have me decorated like a simple pathetic lamp shade?!_ Every single insult he'd ever learned was roiling through his heated spark. As soon as he was able he'd get back at this human… one way or another.

O

It wasn't until after 8 pm that the house was empty except for Mari and Diana. They stole down to the family computer to look up funny horror videos on youtube while her parents went out to dinner with Danny. Stalker scanned the area as thoroughly as he could before transforming. He crept along the hallway to where his hostess' room was. Inside was a full length mirror in one corner where he could examine himself better.

Suddenly a high pitched mechanical scream emanate from upstairs.

Mari nearly jumped out of her skin, looking at her friend in fright, "What the heck was that?"

"Just the movie…" Diana could hear the 'Bot's metal feet thump against the ceiling, "Keep watching I'll be right back!" she dashed upstairs only to run right into the alien.

"Diana!" he gripped her shirt, eyes burning with anger, "What the slag did you let happen to me?!?!" The young lady had a very hard time not laughing at the sight that beheld her.

"And I thought you looked good as a boombox!"

Several of the armor platings that shifted from his alt (mainly making up his face) were a colorful blend of shurbert orange, red and pink. A little unfinished rainbow specked his small cheek plate under his left eyestock. Bat shaped reflective sparkles peppered him all over creating just the perfect sheen. If he'd been in his alt form you would see that the brown splotches made a pumpkin smile across his front.

"Heh… well you're ready for trick or treating!" Diana's knees felt weak.

"Ready?! I look like a killer clown-gremlin…thing!" He struggled to find the words she would understand. He could perfectly express his feelings in Cybertronian and it wasn't pleasant. _Oh if any of the Autobots find out about this I'll be the laughing stock for centuries to come!_

"Oh chill. As long as he didn't use his acrylic paints… (she scratched at the paint) which he did. It should've been easy to remove."

Stalker hissed and clicked curses at the youngling. He turned and kicked a toy truck down the stairs.

"Hey! Hey! Disengage your work engines pal! You can still get this off."

"How?" Stalker growled.

"Dia? Who're you talking to?" Mari called from downstairs.

"Nobody! The radio was left on!" Diana replied before looking back with a grin that grated against Stalker's patience, "I could give you a way… but I don't feel like it now."

"What?!"

"Since you're making me lose valuable study time looking for your little friends… I think it's only fair you have to spend some time uncomfortable yourself."

"I'm uncomfortable all the time Diana Shae! I just crash landed and my regenerative systems aren't functioning properly!!"

She shrugged and sighed, "Just cool your jets…"

"Why should I 'cool my jets' when _all_ I ask of you is to find solid evidence and you abuse me so!?"

Diana leaned forward and poked his forehead, where a faction symbol had been a broken heart was painted, "Because all my friends have to go through initiation with me… if they can't handle my initial craziness then they can't be a friend of mine forever. Mmk?" she waited for his puzzled look to turn into a nod before heading back downstairs.

Stalker stood in the hallway, brightly colored and completely confused. Earlier she'd just said she hadn't liked him. Now she was putting him through a test to be her friend?! What is with these humans?! They were all crazy!

The Autobot unconsciously rattled his joints trying to rid himself of the itch. Thinking miserably: _Well… here's to new friends. _He turned to go back in her room only to have the toy truck he'd kicked smack the back of his head.

OO

Having finished the repair as best he could and leaving the rest to Zan, Stalker entered the chamber to see Arcee and Diana kneeling next to each other giggling about something. Whatever it was it must've had something to do with the camera in Diana's hands.

"What're you two doing?"

The two gasped in surprise, whipping around to look at the attachment. Diana quickly shoved her camera back in her pocket.

"Nothing." Diana's poor discipline gave away their guilt with the smile tugging at her lips.

The 'Bot crossed his arms,"Really? Seems like you two were exchanging gossip and you should know gossip is the worst."

"It wasn't gossip, it was pure unadulterated fact!" Arcee replied truthfully.

"What kind of fact?"

The girls looked at each other, Diana didn't have the control over laughter she would normally have over her fear. She started laughing and the laughter was contagious. Arcee put on her best straight face that she could muster.

Stalker held out his hand gesturing with his fingers, "Can I see it?"

Diana stopped laughing, "What?"

"What you were laughing at."

Arcee answered with her eyes flashing and a hologram appearing. It was an exact copy of the Autobot except that the hologram had the oh so beautiful paint job glowing brightly against his black armor.

Stalker squealed in horror, "Traitor!" he lunged at Diana but Arcee was faster and managed to pick up the human and run away, their laughter echoing across the base.

Ironhide was greeted with another unusual sight of his ward laughing her circuits loose as she ran away with Diana tucked under her arm. Stalker was yelling a colorful string of insults both Cybertronian and English as he chased them.

The weapon's specialist decided he didn't want to know.

**OOO**

**-gigglesnort- I hope this suffices. **

**The fic will pick up from here on out. **

**I know it's not exactly pertaining to Halloween but hey… Stalker got to dress up (XD)**

**See ya in the next chapter!**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**

**Happy Halloween!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thank you Gloria Stone, 0o0** **and ****myrmidryad**** for the adds!**

**(0.o) Sheesh… I don't know whether to call this chapter too long or just right. Well I guess that's what you my oh so lovely reviewers are for. **

**I have to admit… this is one of the weirdest ideas I've ever came up with. 'least that's my opinion on my own chapter.**

**No song lyrics I use are owned by me.**

**Chapter 16:**

The dream was nothing like the ones she'd had before. There was a giant chocolate chip waffle that was speaking with Stalker's voice. It kept telling her to wake up. Diana didn't want to though… a waffle _that_ size was just begging to be eaten.

Stalker stood over his partner, trying to shake her awake. He yelped when she smacked him away, "Not yet daa… five more min…" she curled back into the blankets.

Stalker fixed his crooked eyestock, then placed fists on his nonexistent hips. He selected a song from his archives and jacked up his volume all the way.

"IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE YOU DON'T WANNA WAKE UP. EVERYTHING IS FUCKED! EVERYBODY SUCKS!"

The blankets exploded as Diana grabbed Stalker shaking him very hard, "Turn that stupid song off!" her voice was barely audible.

"…AND YOU WANNA JUSTIFY RIPPIN' SOMEONE'S HEAD OFF!!"

Stalker obliged, a small grin teasing his face plates.

"Ugh! I hate you!" Diana smacked the 'Bot with her pillow. Her hair was frizzy from going to bed with it wet. She muttered and checked her watch which was set just above Sparkle's wrist accessory. It was barely eight o' clock… this joker dared to wake her before nine?! Diana blinded the 'Bot with her pillow again and attacked his ticklish spot. Stalker squealed and took off.

Optimus was greeted with the most unusual sight of an Autobot running for his life from an irritated human waving a pillow like it was a weapon. The two ran right between his feet.

"Goodmorningcommandergottarun!" Stalker managed to yell as he kept just a few lengths ahead of Diana. Optimus watched the two disappear around the corner. He stared after them a moment longer before shaking his head.

By the time they'd reached the cafeteria Diana had ran out most of her irritation. She plopped her pillow down next to Zack and pressed her face into it.

"Good morning sunshine." He said.

"Shut up." Diana said into the pillow. A light weight on her shoulders told her that Zan was there. The drone had just finished the morning maintenance check of all the computer systems and having just had his shot of Energon was quite energetic. Zan held up another lemon to Zack and beeped.

"What?"

Beep!

"What's wrong with the lemon?"

Zan stepped forward and fell off of Diana when she sat up. The lemon went flying and hit the floor. The drone did a take back as if the lemon had yelled at him. He glared at the fruit and started squeaking up a fit right at it.

"I'd love to see what he would do with a bunch of grapes." Diana rubbed the last of the sleep out of her eyes. She was barefoot in her winter pajamas and her hair was a birds nest for all sakes of comparison. Quickly she excused her self and came back dressed in a long red coat, boots, jeans and a turtleneck shirt. She was still wrestling with her hair however.

"Here, a pony tail is boring." Stalker walked up behind Diana and took over. He downloaded the steps from the Internet. Delicately he took her black locks and with the precision of a surgeon he French braided her hair in one minute. He finished off with the colorful scrunchy she provided.

"Thanks Stalker, since when did you get so good with hair?" Diana smiled.

The 'Bot shrugged, "I find the study of these things peculiar but interesting."

Diana pulled something from her pocket, "Come here all of you… yes you to Zan! No I don't care if the lemon is being rude it gets in the picture too." Zan snorted in disagreement before climbing on top of Zack's head. Stalker took a position next to Diana. The four huddled close together and Diana snapped a picture of them all.

"You know Dia, you've been the most unusual but pleasant experience in such a short amount of time." Stalker stated.

Hiding her blush by resting her face on a propped elbow Diana laughed, "Well I'm glad to have brought amusement to your life old man."

"Hey I'm not _that_ old." Stalker huffed.

Zack watched their interactions with great interest.

"Exactly how old are you anyway?" Diana was asking.

"Galactic time or Earth time?"

"Say it in a language I understand." Diana busied herself with prying off Zan, who kept clinging to her neck liking to listen to the beat of her pulse. The drone made a thrumming sound similar to it. 'aww' he beeped in disapointment when she placed him back on Zack's head.

"I'm not as old as Megatron… my sparking was about five hundred Earth years after he declared war." The expected response was that the two humans would gasp in surprise and deny it because to them more than a hundred years was unfathomable. Well Zack did just that. Diana however burst into a fit of giggles blushing badly.

"What's so funny?!" Stalker blurted.

"S-sorry! I just had a 'mind in the gutter' sort of moment." Diana continued to laugh. Zan made a 'haha' noise although whether he comprehended the situation correctly no one knew.

"Please let us in on the joke." Zack grinned.

He quickly scanned for the meaning behind the slang, "I fail to see how my age has to do with the gutter."

"It doesn't. You sure Megatron wasn't a fembot?"

"What?" Stalker was completely confused now.

"It just popped into my head of how Megatron is such a girl for holding a grudge for so long."

Zack burst out laughing, "Oh my gosh you're right!"

Stalker looked at Zan (who fell off of Zack's head when he moved with a squeak of surprise) they were the only ones not laughing. _Maybe they aught to ask Ratchet about this…_

"Diana your randomness is going to make my CPU crash someday I swear!" Stalker hissed.

O

"What's the point of a photographic image? You have us stored in your memory banks." Ratchet asked after Stalker took a picture of Diana with her arm around the Autobot's thick neck from her perch on his shoulder.

"Because it's fun! Well if you want to get technical it's because…. Ok I got nothing technical. Pictures are just nice to have! Now where's Bumblebee I need a picture of him." She asked as she slid off Ratchet.

"He received a call from Sam and had to leave… he should've been back now actually." Optimus blinked in surprise when a flash illuminated the room. He looked down at Diana who hid the camera behind her back smiling. She'd already got a picture with Arcee… since Bee wasn't around she'd go and find Ironhide and Jazz, even Sparkle if she was around.

"Catch ya later big bot!" Diana slammed her hand against Optimus' left foot as she ran by, followed closely by Stalker. She took no notice of the small glimmer that spun inside her Cybertronian wrist accessory.

The doors opened at Sparkle's command. Her sleek red armor was riddled with scratches mostly on her arms and legs. She did her best not to slump but the past few days of running and fighting had really drained her energy. Sparkle needed a place to be alone, recuperate until she hit her critical juncture or the others arrived. A smirk tightened her face plates, she took satisfaction at the thought that now all of the Decepticons that had confronted her were all critically injured now. That aught to teach them not to mess with an Avatar, even if she was at half strength.

"Hey Glittercheeks! What happened to you?"

Startled by the unnoticed approach Sparkle glanced over her shoulder to see Diana standing with her partner, concern deepening the lines of her small face.

"Nothing that can't be undone… I'll regenerate soon."

"That's not what I asked… I asked what happened."

_Nosey little girl._

Stalker looked both amused and anxious.

"Just… please Diana." Sparkle knelt so that their faces were at the same level, "Please, I don't want anyone to know I'm here right now."

"Maybe you should take some lessons from Stalker, he's better at hiding than you."

Stalker flattened his ears and frowned, "Diana."

"Alright alright sorry." She looked back at Sparkle, "I'll stay hush but I'm just worried… you look like you've been in a cat fight or somethin'."

"A mere feline could never - ."

"It's a term we humans use, I didn't mean literally!" _Ahhhh! I'm going to go insane with all this…this literalness!_

"Sparkle?"

The red Cybertronian flinched at the sound of Jazz's voice and quickly curved her back shafts around her body in an attempt to hide her injuries. She saw Diana mouth the word 'busted' with a grin.

The Pontiac jogged over to the group looking eagerly at the other Transformer, "I've been tryin' to contact you! How come you didn' answer?"

"I was busy."

Jazz took one of her wrists forcing her to reveal the deep gashes in her armor, "Busy with what? Decepticons?"

She pulled her arm away, "What do you need, Lieutenant?"

Jazz looked at Diana and Stalker, telling them without words to leave.

Diana pouted but left anyway, she was tempted to steal a picture but that wouldn't come out good because all of the Transformers had a sort of cloak around them that made looking at them with anything digital hazy and from the look of how uptight Sparkle was, her cloak would be up.

"You know that feeling you get in your stomach when something is about to go horribly wrong?"

"No." Stalker replied.

"Right. Well I have a feeling something's about to go wrong."

"You like to hear yourself talk don't you?" he skillfully dodged her fist.

As they headed for the main exit of the base Diana stopped at the hall where she'd been spying with Bee, Zan and Arcee. Stalker tipped his weight to see what had caught her attention.

Optimus was standing in front of two huge console screens, the speakers on the other side were well but plainly dressed humans. From the stern look on their faces while they spoke, they were arguing with Optimus about something serious.

"Hmm I wonder what they're talking about…"

"You can't make me."

Diana looked at Stalker, "What makes you think I'd force you?"

"I'm not using my cloak to spy on my commander! Let's go, whatever business is going on in there is his alone."

"I'm just curious! I wanna know how the relationship between the humans and your race is goin'." She smiled.

"No."

"Please?"

"I said no."

"Please!"

"Diana! If something significant happens Optimus will inform us of it." He was starting to get annoyed.

"But I'd like to know now!" Diana whined.

Stalker growled in warning.

"Oh, well fine then I guess you can't do it. Hmph!" Diana started walking past him with her nose in the air.

The assassin's spines stood on end, "What do you mean I can't? Of course I can!"

Diana removed her smile before turning around, "Then prove it!"

"I will!" Stalker's image suddenly fluttered as he scuttled quietly down the hall. Diana put her communicator in one ear and found a place next to some pipes that hid her bulk.

Stalker was half way down the hall when he stopped in mid step. _Slag she did it to me again!! _

"_Ah ah! You turn around mister! You already made a commitment! And you know how mad I get when a promise isn't carried out."_ Diana's voice was muted, the edge of the jammer's range blocking most of the signal. Stalker growled and vanished completely from sight. He was intending to return and give a piece of his mind to the human but something he heard stopped him.

"She is not your business Commander Prime, she's a human and belongs with her people." One of the delegates was saying.

_She?_ Consider his curiosity piqued.

Quietly Stalker stalked along the wall doing his best to stay out of sight. Even though he was cloaked from all viewers, he couldn't hold the shift in dimensions for very long and had to tread as carefully as if he were in plain sight in enemy territory on a mine field.

"Diana Shae is here of her own free will and we will not force her to return to her home if she does not wish it." Optimus responded calmly. However long this conversation had been going, it was wearing away at the human's nerves. Normally it would be easy to stay cool with had another fleshling been on the other side of the screen. Stalker's cloak dropped just as he hid behind some piping. He jacked up his hearing sensitivity.

"_Miss Shae is too young by law to be making these sort of decisions, she is required to be home at this time."_ A female voice said.

"I am aware of your age laws, but your laws don't always coincide with a youngling's mind set. She's perfectly capable of making logical decisions on her own."

_If only Diana could hear him now… maybe she wouldn't hate him so._ Stalker thought.

"_Optimus Prime if you do not relinquish Miss Shae we will have to make you."_

Stalker hissed inwardly.

There was a slight smirk in the vibrations of the 'Bot's voice, "I can't help but notice…" he said slowly, "You've been very careful in not mentioning the _reason_ you want her to return 'home' so badly."

A moment of silence.

"_All we're allowed to disclose is that Miss Shae is sick."_

"Define 'sick' for me, Agent Felix. My chief medical officer has done a deep scan of her physic and has found nothing harmful to her health."

"_She is sick in a way that you aliens wouldn't understand."_

"I find that hard to believe."

"_You have one week to reconsider."_ With that the transmission was cut off. Stalker resisted the urge to jump out from his hiding place and pepper his commanding officer with questions. He wondered how long these irritating squishies had been plaguing Optimus for Diana's release. More importantly, why?

Both Autobots musings were interrupted by a piercing wail transmitted on all frequencies to the base. Alarms blared from the consoles, files flipped to the front revealing the status of the Scout Bumblebee. His entire neurological system was flashing red.

Then, as soon as the signal came it vanished. The terminals went idle, a small message in the Cybertronian alphabet stating to reboot immediately via the main hub.

Diana waited until Ironhide and Arcee ran by before running into the center chamber herself, "What was that all about?! It nearly burst my ear drum!" Diana snarled, wiggling her pinky in the ear that had had her communicator in.

"Hotshot, report."

"_The central computer is fried, looks like someone small climbed in and shot everything to galactic pieces!"_

"_Our planet side communicators were the first hit it seems." _Jazz continued the report_, "Zan is saying everything needs to be replaced."_

"_Never mind that! Bumblebee's distress signal was cut short! We didn't get his location!"_ That was Ratchet, extreme worry lining his vocals.

All of the Autobots were on the verge of breaking their circuits, especially Arcee. Bumblebee was the last youngling and it would be a terrible blow to their sparks if he were to be offlined.

Stalker left the group without saying a word, only Diana seeing him leave. _Now… if I were a lone Decepticon in the middle of an Autobot base… what would be the easiest escape route for my size?_ He traveled the halls at a gallop on all fours before scrambling up another set of the pipes and cables that lead to the ceiling and ran along the length of the base suspended with a foot of leeway.

Stalker suddenly heard the clack of metal feet way before he saw movement. Delicately he stopped so as not to make a sound and cloaked. Indeed, he and Frenzy thought alike.

The silver Decepticon attachment trotted carefully along the piping and cables before turning to one of the air vents. Years of dust flew everywhere when Frenzy pulled it off its bolts causing the 'Con to revolt, clicking and buzzing in annoyance. Stalker couldn't help but feel a bubble of happiness rise in his spark chamber, this was going to be fun.

Frenzy was oblivious to the fact that he was being followed. Occasionally he stopped to listen to the noise echoing from the Autobots in the base to make sure they were still distracted. All of Transformers were good at hiding, but who was better was another question entirely. Frenzy was more of a recon specialist (a very vicious, recon specialist). Stalker however had been born to be a predator. The rate of oxygen flow increased indicating that an outlet was nearby and that gave Frenzy the confidence of a flawless escape so he picked up his pace.

Stalker skittered silently on the outside of the vent hanging dexterously on the tips of his claws. Carefully he calculated, wait, wait… his claws sharpened just before he thrust them through the thin material and was rewarded with a squeal of surprise and a neck between his digits.

Firmly Stalker planted his feet on the frame and pulled with all his might. Gravity brought both of them down but as the Allspark would have it, these transformers had the acrobatic grace of spiders.

"Let's play Frenzy!" Stalker laughed as he chased his counterpart along a large slick pipe. This all reminded him of a past squabble with a deadly game Stalker liked to call 'tag and frag'. Stalker was taller by one foot and that made it easier to close the distance between them and cut up Frenzy's ankles.

Frenzy leaped to a ledge and fired at his enemy with one of his chain guns. _Fraggin' arrogant bolt head I'll show him not to mess with me! _Stalker dodged the first burst of plasma rounds and vanished from sight and scanners. Frenzy could hear the Autobot scaling the railings all around him, he sent another burst of rounds with a calculated guess but missed. The other dropped from above, knocking the Decepticon off the ledge but not before Frenzy grabbed him and took them both to the floor.

Diana screamed and jumped back in time to avoid getting crushed by a screaming ball of furious warriors. It hadn't been hard to find the two considering how much racket they were making.

"Frenzy! I shoulda known." Ironhide's cannons were at the ready as well as Arcee's.

Stalker kicked Frenzy off of him and slashed with his plasma blades trying to disarm the ferocious little fighter. It wasn't that Stalker didn't have ranged weapons himself, but he preferred to kill something up close and personal. It was more honorable that way than to do so at a distance. At least that's what he believed.

"Keep him alive Stalker!" Prime's voice boomed.

_Slag._

Stalker pulled his attacks and managed to get behind Frenzy and pin him. The 'Con snarled pulling everything he had to get Stalker off of him. But it was to no avail, once again being a small was a disadvantage in this situation. Arcee ran over and slammed a restraining collar on the Decepticon. Instantly Frenzy was forced to relax, his weaponry retracting into their respective slots.

'_It should be simple for you. Get out there now! Yeah, get out and get caught! Frag you!'_ Frenzy thought Starscream's words sarcastically. He hadn't wanted to come here in the first place but it was either here or be scrap. He hated Starscream. At least Megatron knew when and where to send in his soldiers.

"Hey Arcee, can I have one of those?" Diana pointed at the collar then pulled her finger away before it was bitten off by Frenzy. Stalker slammed the 'Con's head down with his foot. Frenzy's glare burned with animosity.

"Daww he's as cranky like you Sta-."

"Diana, step away. Now." Optimus wasn't scolding, but his voice was stern enough that it made Diana feel a little stupid.

Optimus loomed over the four foot Decepticon, "Jazz, call the twins back. We're going to need their assistance."

O

Diana huffed in frustration, "I know I probably sound like an echo but we don't have time to be messing around with this dodo brain! Bee's in trouble we should be out looking for him! Wait… he was _supposed_ to be picking up Sam right?"

"I've just confirmed it, Sam never made a call to Bee. He's really worried." Jazz said, curling his digits into fists.

Ratchet and Hotshot had gone to see if they could pick up the trail Bee might've left behind. It was a half an hour later before the twins came bursting out of the room where they'd been keeping Frenzy. Diana looked past them to see that the silver 'Con was smirking in amusement.

Sideswipe was holding his head making a strange mechanical groan, "Gah! Sunny get it out! Get it out! I can't stand it the Easter Bunny is EVERYWHERE!!" the red twin tripped over his own feet and came crashing down.

"What happened?!" Ironhide growled. Optimus just stood with his arms crossed, calmly observing the situation.

Sunstreaker helped his brother to his feet, "We tried hacking into his cerebral function but the little glitch has a tougher brain than ours. He must've downloaded a virus to overwhelm Sides."

"AHHH!!! Who's the big fat human in the red suit?!"

"Hold still!" Arcee said with irritation as she inserted a disk that would study then create an anti virus into Sideswipe's inlet under his chin plate.

Frenzy cackled from where he was strapped in on the table next to a console. He wasn't afraid of any of them… well at least not their pathetic hacking abilities. The only one that really scared him in this group of nitwits was Stalker. Frenzy pulled out of the jack they'd inserted into the back of his neck and sat on his haunches. At this moment one ankle was strapped to the floor just to keep him from going anywhere. The collar prevented all manner of weaponry to be used, prohibited him from taking it off, even prevented the wearer from running away. It was a very infuriating device.

The silver attachment noticed that the female squishy was glaring at him while the Autobots argued behind her. He glared back, imagining all the different ways he could get back at her for touching him when he'd tried to offline her partner. He hated biologicals, they were gross and primal, spewing disgusting fluids and gases all the time, leaving waste everywhere. Ugh! It made him cringe. Only Stalker's presence as he appeared next to her caused Frenzy to stop starring thorns and daggers at Diana. The attachment switched his angry gaze to the other one instead.

It seemed that there was no way they could get the information about Bumblebee out of this stubborn entity and Frenzy was enjoying the feeling of helplessness that was wringing in the air.

Optimus glanced down at Stalker who was standing with his arms crossed, his small body was lucid, gold eyes calm and inquisitive as he examined something in his thought stream over and over it.

"Stalker? Is there something you wish to add?" Optimus asked.

Stalker glanced at his commander then back at Frenzy, "You've tried everything have you?"

"Yes, Frenzy's fire wall is just too strong to hack through." Sideswipe whined. It wasn't often that the twins admitted defeat.

Frenzy snickered loudly, mocking them, daring them to try again.

Stalker rubbed his chin plate a moment before stating, "I could always try an Encephalon Dive."

Diana was surprised to see Frenzy's spines stick on end, entire body going rigid. Genuine fear bubbling inside his bright blue optics.

"_Try that and you'll regret it!"_ the 'Con hissed, trying to look as threatening as possible while chained.

"…an Encephalon Dive is risky Stalker. Your sparks are too close you… might get distracted." Jazz said.

"Sparks too close – risky – Dive what?! Let me in the loop here people! I'm an Autobot too!" Diana yelled waving her hands wildly. Optimus couldn't help but smile at how the girl labeled herself.

Stalker looked at his partner, "You remember me telling you that if a Transformer's head is destroyed they'll die right?"

She nodded. A few times when Diana was bored or had nothing else to do she'd study the Transformers' anatomy, everything from the transformation to their sparks. It was difficult to understand since she wasn't that much into physics but she understood the main jist of everything.

"With us attachments it's quite a different story, our sparks _and_ our brains are located in almost the exact same area." He tried explaining as simply as possible.

"…so if you did this dive thingy you guys might spark bond?"

"Correct."

"Oh… well…." She clicked her tongue, "That's awkward."

"Especially if it's with a slaggin' Decepticon." Ironhide growled, "I say we just offline him and pick his brains for the information."

"Ironhide!" Optimus warned.

Stalker narrowed his eyes and sent a coded message to Frenzy,_ "You weren't always a Decepticon… were you? Your eyes literally betray you."_

Frenzy hissed and clicked repeatedly. Heat radiated from his body as the anger spinning with hurricane force through his systems, _"Never, EVER mention that again you _Autobot _scum!" _he snarled, _"I don't see why these dimwits don't just pick _you_ apart! Our sparks do not glow gold! Once I get out of this I'm going to have the utter pleasure of tearing you apart bolt by bolt to see why!"_ In all reality the Decepticons would have the same color eyes as the Autobots, but over the many millennia the Decepticons had found it appropriate to change that.

Slowly Stalker looked up at Diana holding her gaze, then up at Optimus, "I don't suggest this lightly, Commander. I know that if a bonding starts I won't be able to kill him in battle. Then again neither will he."

_I can always kill your flea bitten slobbering human!_ Frenzy thought maliciously.

"Permission granted. Diana, it's best if you not stay for this." Optimus suggested.

"You're sure quick to agree to this Optimus Prime." Diana was worried about Bumblebee but she didn't share the desperation.

"Come on Diana, let's wait outside." Arcee reached for her hand but the girl flinched away.

"No!"

Stalker stepped forward, "Diana please go-."

"No! This is stupid Stalker you shouldn-."

"NOW!"

Instantly Diana shut up. It was rare for Stalker to yell at her seriously. Looking at her feet, Diana swallowed the pain rising in her throat and left.

Stalker watched her go and sighed heavily. He didn't like yelling at her for any reason, he was even tempted to follow her example of departure. This was a very uncomfortable situation. But in war you either took the options presented or perish the consequences. Bumblebee was in major trouble in the hands of Turantulas and they couldn't afford to waste any time.

Frenzy strained backwards as far as the chains would allow him when Stalker approached. The chain grew taught when he tried to flinch away from the other's touch causing him to fall on his side.

"_Stay away from me Autobot whore!"_ Frenzy snarled. He was rewarded with stinging strike across his face. The black attachment gripped Frenzy's head and pressed their foreheads together, snakelike cords slipping out from between his face plates. Probing, searching for the connection slots that Frenzy was oh so stubbornly covering up. The silver 'Con couldn't help but whine in pain and desperation. He absolutely would not be dived into! Frenzy gripped the other's wrist joints as tight as he could, trying to pull off the Autobot's death hold.

"Come on Frenzy open up to me … you can't hide forever!" his voice was low and sinister.

"_Frag you!" _

Despite both of their chambers being firmly shut their sparks reacted to the closeness of one another. Stalker could feel his body heat up with anticipation and did his best to ignore the urge and focus on finding Bumblebee and only Bumblebee. Frenzy was struggling to keep all entry points protected but a sharp movement from when he tried to pull away caused his face plates to shift momentarily and that was all Stalker needed to slip inside and connect.

Instantly the battle of wills began.

What the Autobots on the outside saw was the attachments curl their backs and begin shaking, high pitched screams shattering the silence that had briefly embraced them.

Sentient beings created meaning, that meaning birthed symbols, symbols encouraged intellect, intellect created walls around that which was undisciplined. Stalker felt the closeness of the other's spark, felt the need to share his troubles, the comfort that Diana could never give him, for a few moments he didn't care if it was an enemy he was connected to at the moment.

Turning away from the temptation that Frenzy felt as well. He focused on the virtual wall raging before him. The visualizations were clear, two blue storms clashed together, numbers and symbols wove together thickening the barrier that protected the information they wanted. Frenzy clawed at Stalker's physical being but the pain was nonexistent as the assassin's mind was elsewhere.

The wall of symbols suddenly shuddered, unthreading in some places. Pride kicked in, arrogance usually only shown in sparklings when nothing in the universe could stop them.

The Autobots shifted uncomfortably when they heard a sound like Stalker clicking in laughter.

_Haha! Who's the better hacker now! _

Frenzy screeched and the wall began repairing itself but damage was dealt just as soon as it was healed. The Autobot was a leach on his memories now, he threw up as many others as he could, creating a barrier of desperation. He refused to give the irritating bucket of bolts the satisfaction of overtaking him.

Stalker was confused for a moment, memories of death, slaughter, laughter, friendship, pain, hatred. All at once slammed into him pushing him further away from his goal. They were only visual memories though, no emotions attached. So nothing meant anything to him. It appeared that long ago Frenzy had made a point of detaching himself emotionally from events, except for a few choice ones that still hurt him. Stalker focused all his thoughts on one thing: Bumblebee's location.

A flash of yellow symbols… there, there you are our big metal bumblebee. Stalker began his retreat from the bowels of Frenzy's mind.

Suddenly his retreat was hampered. The lust for oneness had returned. Panicking Stalker tried to detach but found that Frenzy had pinched his jacks in place, not allowing him to leave. While he'd been so set on breaking the other's defenses, Frenzy had taken the opportunity to connect himself to Stalker with his own probes. Energy rushed through their bodies at an abnormal rate, causing them to shake uncontrollably.

Stalker growled still trying to get Frenzy to let go but his body just wasn't responding to his commands anymore.

How annoying that his physical body would betray him just as success was near! Frenzy must've opened his spark chamber to cause this reaction. Stalker just couldn't help it; the oneness that all sparks longed for was deep, seductive and dark. A time when their sparks could speak to each other face to face. Regardless of faction, all of their sparks longed to one again.

A star of light flashed between the two whose roles of dominance were now reversed. Blue waves of energy started circling the Autobot and Decepticon. Both moaned in utter pleasure, bodies trembling at each other's touch.

Before any of the Autobots could do anything Diana was running back in. She yelled something that couldn't be heard over the ruckus as she reached for the two. Her face was burning with rage.

"Diana! No!"

Energy shot up Diana's arms as she grabbed the transformer's spiney heads and ripped them apart. She gasped as she was thrown on her back. The waves spiraled around her body then finally rested on her head, causing her eyes to glow briefly before the rush faded completely.

Stalker stumbled back onto his aft, gripping his head whining in pain from the sudden separation. Instantly their chambers had shut themselves off from the world. Their conversation hadn't been completed…

"Look who's the whore now." Stalker wanted to snarl but he just… just couldn't be angry with Frenzy. Annoyed yes, but that was as far as his spark let him. Frenzy snickered at him. A hint of mischievous yet somehow loving malice glinting inside his four optics.

Diana lay on the floor, her breath completely knocked out of her. Stalker knelt next to her, a mixture of emotions welling up inside his pulsing spark chamber, "Dia?" he poked her, not sure of what to do.

"Can the pretty lights stop hurting now? I wanna get off the ride…" she gasped.

"Here, I don't know if this'll work though." Arcee knelt next to Diana pulling out the energy dampening rod.

"Arcee! She's not full of Energon!" _Oh my achin' CPU I'm gonna feel this for days…_ Stalker shuddered as pain throbbed through his head, a result of the sudden severance no doubt. Plus it had left a feeling of dissatisfaction ah slag Stalker get your head out of the gutter. The attachment shook his head trying to focus, his systems not responding optimally.

"I'm not going to stick it in her!" Arcee passed the spear like piece of equipment dangerously close to Diana's skin. The energy reacted, and the flow coursing through the human's brain abated.

"Ow…" Diana groaned trying to sit up, "I… hate… you!" she managed to whisper between breaths. Adrenaline burned through her systems as she frowned at the silver Decepticon. Frenzy seemed to not notice her hostility, too busy sifting through his own thoughts and feelings of his recent adventure.

Stalker reached out to help Diana stand and was surprised when she smacked his hand away.

"Leave me alone." She muttered. Her head was starting to throb painfully, all she wanted to do right now was sleep. Her body felt heavy and numb. As quickly as she could with wobbly legs Diana left the room.

_Well that was stupid… you mighta hurt Stalker you ass hole!_

_No, it's not like I was going to stand by and let some Deceptidodo make out with _my_ partner! Hear that? MINE._

_You coulda damaged his brain you idiot, they were still connected._

_Better his brain than his soul!_

_Those were connected too._

_I don't care!_

_What the hell is wrong with you Diana?! Bumblebee is in danger and you're being selfish!_

_I-I'm not being selfish!_

_Oh then listen to all this 'mine mine mine' business. Heartless bitch!_

Diana sighed heavily trying to calm down and stop the mental argument going on inside her brain. She leaned against the wall feeling the tears come. With every tear her body felt weaker and weaker. So many emotions were racing through her veins at the moment that she didn't know where to start identifying them.

"Way to be useful idiot…" Diana hissed at herself. Despite being high strung she felt hallow, maybe a side effect of being zapped with unknown energy was this. Diana cursed as her eyes lost their focus. She quickly headed back to her room.

Optimus knelt, "Stalker, report."

The black mechanoid continued to stare after Diana a few seconds longer before he realized his commander was acknowledging him, "Oh… mission successful except for that last bit. Here are the coordinates," Stalker relayed the information to all of them.

"Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will remain here to keep an eye on the prisoner, Jazz you will stay with Diana. Everyone else roll out!" the air filled with whirs and hisses as the designated fighters transformed to their alternate forms.

"What? Optimus I'm ready to fight! Why are ya holdin' me back!" Jazz argued.

The semi's engine revved, "Are you questioning my orders, Jazz?" The lieutenant's shoulders sagged as he shook his head, "Good. Don't worry soldier you will be back on the field soon." The semi drove out first.

"Slag we're being left out bro…. AHH! Make pumpkin heads stop singing!!" Sideswipe backed up and smashed into a table. The anti virus was certainly taking its dear sweet time. Sunstreaker sighed and shook his head.

O

Stalker lay on Optimus' seat gripping his head tightly, optics squinted tightly shut. A mixture of pain and dull pleasure shooting throughout his chambers. At the same time of being mad at Diana he was utterly thankful. The combination was threatening to overload his emotion modules.

He understood Frenzy a little better.

A lot more intimately than he'd initially wanted to. In a sense, while they'd been bonding they'd told each other their deepest secrets and desires. Stalker could only hope that it all hadn't been a cost that would come back to haunt him. He knew he would have to deal with a very upset Diana when they returned. Hopefully _with_ Bumblebee.

"Stalker, can you function properly? If not then you don't have to participate." Optimus asked calmly. The leader seemed to understand the situation Stalker had just put himself in at least to some degree.

"I'm recovering adequately!" Stalker said a little too fast, "Um… I mean… please just give me a mission, that'll clear up my head."

"I hope that this new development between you and Frenzy doesn't compromise anything."

"I think it did from the first moment I mentioned the idea. I… I don't understand Optimus. Why is Diana so upset? I know she cares for Bumblebee despite any misfit things they've said to each other… so why didn't she just accept that it was the only way to find him?"

The commander released air out of his vents in a sigh, "She cares for you a lot more than a comrade, Stalker. She's timid to show it appropriately however is my assumption. What just happened has wounded her spark. Diana is a strong individual though, I believe she will understand in time and come to terms."

"Her? Doubtful… at least not with a lot of abuse first." It took a few more moments for Prime's words to sink in.

_Stalker you fraggin' idiot… you are so blind!_ The attachment slammed his head against Optimus' dashboard. Every curse in the Cybertronian language he inflicted upon himself silently in his rage. The fire of hatred sputtering when aimed at Frenzy so he aimed it at all Decepticons and it flared to life. He paced the small cabin, claws itching to tear something apart. Diana saw him as a partner and friend, no not just a partner and friend it was something so much more than that and he'd just betrayed her feelings without being aware. That made it all the more painful for him.

The group of Autobots reached the location specified. It was in a hilly area just outside of Mission City, also a restricted area for a few attempted mines that had been closed off. Ratchet and Hotshot were no where to be found despite that they'd been informed. They all transformed into their bipedal modes. Battle masks on, weapons at the ready. They searched the hills until they picked up remnants of their scout's signature and followed. The trail ended up at a mine shaft that apparently hadn't been closed off. Plasma blasts marked the quarry and distinct yellow paint was scratched off on some of the boulders. From the looks of the battle, Bumblebee had been cornered and forced to run into the mine for cover. The entrance was too small for Optimus or Ironhide to fit in, if Ratchet and Hotshot had went inside to look it would've been a very tight squeeze.

Ironhide growled in frustration at the obstacle.

"Arcee, you and Stalker take point. Report what you find and _be careful!_" Optimus stressed, "We will stay here."

Arcee glanced inside the mine shaft, "… last time I was in a place this dark Bumblebee told us to shoot the ceiling down…" she shook her head at the memory. Stalker leaped off of Prime's shoulder and landed on Arcee's, "Let's go then."

"Psh!" Arcee switched on her headlights and entered, canons at the ready.

The shaft was clearly unstable from the years of neglect and termites. Several support beams had been recently smashed in Bumblebee's attempt to escape whoever had been chasing him. Sand hissed down from the ceilings at their approach, whispering unheard words of warning.

The Autobots established a routine of Stalker going ahead cloaked to make sure a passage was clear or to determine whether it was a waste of time to go down. They didn't dare use their sonic emitters for echo location to get a better view of the geography for fear of a cave in.

"_Don't they map these things?"_ Arcee asked via private link when they hit yet another a four way split.

"_They do… but those maps aren't stored on any of the local databases. It must still just be on paper since they aren't using it."_ Stalker explained. He'd hacked the computers before they'd entered and had been disappointed. He touched her ankle and pointed at another streak of yellow paint on the left tunnel wall. Bee must've slid on the loose gravel and tripped on the tracks from the look of it. What ever had chased him had scared the guardian severally which bothered the Autobots. Bumblebee may be young but he wasn't one easy to scare.

At last the tunnel widened into a vast mining area riddled with carts, stones, trash and other miscellanies items deemed unworthy to salvage. At the other side of the uneven terrain was a soft glow of light.

Cautiously the two slunk forward, sensors brimming at their fullest for any thing to happen. They sidled up behind a large boulder and peeked around its side. What they saw completely perplexed them.

A human wearing a skin tight white suit that even covered his face lay curled and shuddering on the cold stone floor. The ground around him was saturated with unknown liquids that clung to the cylinder surrounding the quivering figure. Arcee scanned the human and could see that it was laboring just to breath, his bodily systems out of whack as if the person's brain wasn't functioning properly.

Well if this didn't spell trap they didn't know what did. The question still begged: Where was Bumblebee?

With a nod, Stalker shifted dimensions and stepped carefully across the open terrain while Arcee kept an eye out for him.

He approached the cylinder carefully, taking note of every energy signature, every noise every movement or lack thereof. Dropping his cloak when he'd reached the platform, gently Stalker tapped the glass to get the human's attention. The male twitched at the sound and shifted uncomfortably as adrenaline shot through his body. With great effort he rolled over to seek out the disturbance.

Stalker couldn't help but tilt his head in recognition. Perhaps he was just reacting to the color coordination but the human had fair skin, longish sunshine yellow hair tipped in black and bright blue eyes.

"Are you alright human?" Stalker asked quietly but loud enough that hopefully he could hear.

After a moment of staring the male gasped and tried to get up but the slick goo covering his body caused him to fall back, he was trying to speak but it seemed he didn't have the coordination to breath properly. What were the Decepticons thinking keeping a poor thing like this hostage?

Stalker turned to signal Arcee it was safe to cross but stopped, his foot just above the dirt floor when the human made a noise close enough to a scream. He glanced back to see that the young male had managed to get himself up against the glass. Tears streaming down his dirty face, anger and fear in his systems. Who ever this was didn't have the discipline among other humans to control his emotions.

"It will be alright human, I'll be back." Stalker assured before setting his foot down.

The trap hadn't been able to detect Stalker's first passing while cloaked.

Half way across the opening the floor came to life as camouflages were shed. The Autobot squealed in surprise when he was entangled in the iron grip of metal tentacles. Several clicks sounded as compartments opened revealing probes that clamped down on his most presentable access points to his brain.

"No Arcee stay back!" Stalker yelled when he saw the fem start to approach. He thrashed his about screeching in anger trying in vain to rid himself of the connection. Arcee shot at the bindings but her plasma shots were absorbed and seemed to only power the trap more. The human was banging his fists against the glass.

Stalker readied all his mental defenses as the intrusion penetrated past his physical obstructions. It was then that he realized that this horrific machine wasn't meant to infiltrate his brain.

Watching helplessly as blue bolts of energy shot around the trapped Autobot, Arcee glanced around for anything that could possibly help but saw nothing. Plasma rounds were out of the question, this thing had been brilliantly designed.

Stalker's optics suddenly faded to black and his body went limp. Suddenly what had been thought as a boulder next to the cylinder shimmered as the hologram faded to reveal another. Arcee watched with a sick fascination as the tube filled with a thick semi transparent substance, a pin point of light seemed to be inserted from a tube underneath and the liquids reacted, curling inward turning all manners of black and red.

"Arceeeee!"

Surprised, the fem tore her eyes away from the event unfolding to look at the human. The human was choking on his own saliva and had been thrown into a coughing fit.

Totally confused and desperate for answers Arcee's body flared with red light as she sent a disturbance wave throughout the entire chamber. Instantly several disguises disappeared as the holograms were disintegrated.

Arcee had to hold back a scream of terror when the boulder she'd been using as a hiding place turned out to be the trapped and still form of Bumblebee, the misfortunate scout had tripped the first trap. Hotshot was a helpless paralyzed heap nearby with specialized nanytes having been injected into his system acting like a poison. Several of these traps were strategically placed throughout the room (one right next to Arcee) and Ratchet was no where to be found.

" Ah slag slag slag slag!" Arcee screamed as she panicked and ran out of the chamber giving the traps a wide birth. Her signal wouldn't be able to reach Optimus since they were so far down underneath layers and layers of rock. _No way no way I did _NOT_ just see what I saw… no no no no no!! Primus why would you release such an abomination as that beast bot?! _The frightened marksman tripped, clawed and scrambled her way back to the surface.

In the darkness above a small spiderbot drone transmitted all the happenings to its owner. Turantulas hissed in satisfaction. All over he his armor had been pierced by the Avatar's energy spear, his systems were at half their performance from the blast she'd emitted making him and all the others very helpless at the moment. It was going to take a long time for all of them to recuperate and they didn't want the Autobots to have the advantage.

"Did you honestly have to bring _that_ one here?" Turantulas asked without turning around.

The sounds of a heavy burden being dropped on the floor could be heard, "It's no good if they have their doctor to help them." said Blackarachnia. The spider mechanoid limped over her prey to examine him, two of her legs broken while the rest of her body wasn't in any better shape. Underneath her huge bulk Ratchet lay helplessly in tight bonds of webbing, his systems had managed to get rid of the poison she'd injected into him but that was of litle help now.

"Besides... I'm tired of feasting on protein based forms to keep my spinnerets moist. I want something a little more... satisfying."

"I see."

The spiders hissed at each other when the scientist approached, lifting their front legs in a threatning pose. Blackarachnia warning him off her prize. Finally Turantulas left the fembot alone with her spoils having lost their beast squabble for dominance and also finding it unappealing to be damaged further. Ratchet could only watch their quarrell. For such thin strands the material binding him was better than their strongest armor. Blearlily he took in his surroundings only to be disapointed in realizing they were underground. No signal was getting out here that was for sure.

**OOO**

**Oki doki… evil enough cliff hanger? No? Ah shoot I better try harder next time.**

**Stalker: You might want to wait for them to actually **_**leave**_** a review before presuming?**

**Shush you –bops him-**

**Stalker: (TT) what IS it with girls and hitting me?!**

**Because we love you.**

**Stalker: why not express your love in a less punishing matter?!**

**I could always release Frenzy on you…**

**Stalker: No the hitting is fine**

**Frenzy: awww**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you ****kingmutt****Tsaemihu Kanirou****Bumblebaka****, and ****girlwithnolife**** for the adds! Did I miss anyone? I think I might've 'cause my computer lagged when I pressed the delete button.**

**ART UPDATE!!:**

**There is now a full colored deviation of Stalker up on my deviantart account (which you can reach via link on my profile page). Sparkle and Diana I'm still working on.**

**Chapter 18:**

After an hour or so of helping Zan put up the security network computer again, Jazz shuffled along the corridors feeling completely let down. Although he understood Optimus' decision that didn't mean he had to like it. The lieutenant had told the giant mech about his recent fiasco a few nights ago. It happened a lot more than he cared to mention actually. Every time he was alone and in high spirits and full of energy here came Megatron's ghost intent on haunting him, scaring the Energon right out of him leaving him weak and longing. To his dismay and relief he found that the specter left him alone when he was low on power, so no high or medium grade for him. Slag.

Ratchet said it could just be because of the trauma of being ripped in half by the High Lord. This did little to comfort Jazz since he didn't want to be a scaredy bot for the rest of his renewed life. So he'd sought out his savior and asked for her advice.

To his disappointment Sparkle had as few answers to give as Ratchet.

"_It's not that I don't want to help you Lieutenant, I just don't have the ability to at the moment."_

"_You found out something?"_

"_Yes, but I require help to aid you in relieving yourself of this ghost." _Sparkle had said to Jazz's disappointment.

"_What sort of help do you need?" _

"_None that you or Ratchet can provide." She placed a reassuring hand on the silver mech, "You just need to persevere for now till I _can_ help. Don't allow yourself to do anything stupid in the meantime."_

"_Like what?"_

"_If this condition proceeds as I surmise it might… you'll find out soon."_

Jazz had had no choice but to leave it at that because the alarms had gone off for at that moment. Her vagueness wasn't helping any, she was an oddball among Cybertronians. Most preferred to tell in detail the happenings of a situation. Sparkle preferred to be an enigma, liked to see what would come out of a situation with the lack of information they were so used to getting. It frustrated Jazz to the point his circuits burned with anger but he didn't want to push Sparkle to a negative opinion of him. She could after all, pull the plug on his existence if she wanted to.

He approached the hall leading to Diana's quarters to find Zack walking toward him.

"She alright?" Jazz asked when they met.

"No, but she doesn't want to talk to me about it. She's more open to you guys, you aught to try." Zack sighed.

"How backwards of her, you'd think she'd rather confide in one of her own species."

"This isn't exactly a one species relationship. Just let her rant, the more she told me to go away the more I know she needs someone to talk to." Zack tapped Jazz's leg with his fist on his way by, "Good luck."

Kneeling next to the door, Jazz delicately used his digits to turn the knob and peek inside. Diana was in the far corner curled in the fetal position on her bed with her pillow smashed around her head.

"Dia?" Jazz called gently.

She didn't move. His sensors told him that she was trying very hard to go to sleep.

"Diana." He said with a little more emphasize. The youngling continued to ignore him.

Grunting, Jazz shifted his position until he lay flat on his front side. The bipedal Pontiac reached inside and extended his arm so that he was able to reach the width of the room and snag the edge of the mattress. Retracting his arm back to its original length he propped his weight on his other elbow. He didn't pull the bed completely out, just enough that he was laying next to the human.

He prodded her gently, "Hey girl, stop mopin'! It ain't cool when you're mopin'." The response he got was completely unpredicted.

Diana jumped up and grabbed his head, "I! Am! So! Em!Barressed!" she shook his head with each punctuated syllable. She plopped back down on her butt, grabbing her pillow and burying her face in it. Her body was burning with it now.

"Embarrassed about what? Stopping the bonding process? You shouldn't be girl! If they'd completed it then Stalker woulda been a changed 'Bot." Jazz tried to comfort her by stroking her back kindly with one digit. The touch seemed to calm the girl's nerves a bit. But only a bit.

She looked up, tears streaming down her face, "Really?"

"Really." He reassured and placed his hand against his chassis, "I know for a fact that when the process is interrupted that the emotional bonds will cut short soon. Although soon for us is probably a long time to you."

"Oh." Diana dried her face, "I… well yeah."

"Yes?"

"I'm just embarrassed for the way I acted still."

"Your partner was doing something that displeased you greatly. A reaction like that is understandable."

Diana threw up her arms making exaggerated gestures, "I _never_ flip like that! Never! It _totally_ surprised even _me_!" she jumped up so that she was at his face level (wobbling on the bed), "Jazz! I…. I went all possessive on him I guess…" her face burned bright red, "Urgh! I hate that word!" she started to cry again, "Fuuuuu….dgesicles! This is just-! Arg! Rawr! Domo larry-kun! OMFG!!" she whacked the lieutenant with her pillow in her frustration at the lack of ability to explain her feelings properly. Jazz found her choice of words poor but her expression completely reasonable.

"Slag it girl, just say you're in love with the 'Bot." he had to hold back a chuckle when she lost her footing and had to catch her.

"In love?! Love?! No! Do you have a few bolts lose in that advanced brain of yours? I just care for him a lot that's all!"

"Uh huh."The sight of Jazz with his chin resting on a propped elbow while swinging his legs back and forth so calmly, just flat out infuriated Diana. She wanted to punch his smirking face right off! Do _anything_ at this point other than confession! _Confess what? It's not like I have anything to confess…do I?_

"Hehe, you're cute when you don't wanna admit your feelings."

"I'm gonna stuff my sock in your vocals if you don't shut 'em!" Diana glared.

Unperturbed by the threat, Jazz continued to prod the human in the right direction. This attitude wasn't that far off from the younglings he'd dealt with back home (including himself). At one point anyone fell for someone and this one had hit rock bottom hard. And with someone that wasn't even of her species. That little part intrigued Jazz more than anything. Diana had always been very accepting and very friendly with all of the Autobots. Treating them all like a family unit as far as he'd observed. It was Stalker that she treated differently, albeit it was very subtle but she did. For example Zan had chattered to him about the time she'd allowed Stalker to bathe with her once. A time like a human's personal grooming was a very intimate and private time of day. Even Makaela got upset when Bumblebee had evidentially gone to tap on her window since her phone wasn't with her when she was drying herself off from a shower.

"Calm down little spark." Jazz smiled, "I'm just teasin'. I just don't like to see ya frownin' is all. But this childishness has got to go. You're no child as far as human mentality…(most of the time), just admit you love the little guy and you'll feel better. The stress you're putting on yourself through is unhealthy."

Diana folded her arms and glared defiantly, "I'm _not_ gonna admit such a thing."

"Stop bein' afraid."

"I'm not afraid!"

"Then say it."

"It's not like that!"

"Then what is it like?" Jazz found the speed at which their verbal sparring was going could be used to his advantage if he played it right.

"I'm just a friend to him! And he's always mopin' over Shadow anyway."

"Now that's just an excuse, it's painful but he's moved on from Shadow's death."

"How would you know? You don't know them personally! ….do you?"

"No changin' the subject little spark."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Am not! Look Jazz I'm just his friend ok!!" Diana stomped.

Jazz snorted in annoyance, "Then why did ya pull 'em apart if you care so little?"

"Because you nerd face I love him!" her eyes widened and she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Jazz grinned, "Got ya."

"No no! I meant to say because he… he shouldn't be so distracted if he's gonna go help look for Bee! Yeah… um… ah shit."

He took note of how quickly her pheromones were starting to balance out to a more acceptable level, "Feel better?"

"I hate you." She tried to hide her red face underneath her pillow.

"Love ya too." Jazz chuckled.

"Stuff it!" she threw her cushion at the Autobot's face. Jazz grabbed her by the arm to stop her barrage and planted a kiss on her forehead, "Chill little spark. It's ok to be in love."

Diana calmed down immediately, she wiped a stray tear away and sat against Jazz's shoulder where he lay, "Have you ever been in love before?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Mm hmm, and I still am." He added, "Whether or not my bonded is still roaming the universe or waiting for me back in the Matrix I don't know."

"You really can't remember being dead?"

Jazz shook his head, "Not a thing. But that's not the point, the point is you harbor great feelings for your partner and were hurt by his actions. All I have to say is don't begrudge him for it, we all just want Bumblebee back."

Diana sniffed, "I understand, he's special, the last youngling and all… I won't begrudge Stalker. No way, he's my little cuddly assassin. But I won't be lettin' go of this in two hours."

"As long as it's not years to come." Jazz smiled. The Autobot suddenly looked up as if listening to something.

Diana frowned, "What?"

Jazz hesitated, then shrugged, "I think the twins are playing target practice with something." He vented air in a sigh, "Ironhide told them not to do that _inside_ the living area at least." The Pontiac pushed her mattress back into her room before standing and going to see what the twins were up to.

Not wanting to be left with nothing to do, Diana followed him. She had to jog to keep up with his walk. He was one of the smallest mechs but that didn't matter. His legs were still longer than hers.

As they approached the disturbance, Jazz paused and motioned for Diana to wait. It didn't sound like blanks were being fired… and from the amount of crashing and screaming that wasn't a friendly game of banter going on.

"Wait here." He told his human ward.

"I'm not _that_ chemically imbalanced." She muttered but complied.

Adjusting his power levels so that he would be using normal instead of plasma rounds, Jazz sidled up to the door where the loud but indiscernible bickering that was going on.

Before he reached it the door blew open as Sideswipe smashed against it! The red twin squealed as he slammed against the opposite wall clutching at something behind his head.

"Sides!" Sunstreaker came running out to help his brother then all of a sudden both of them calmed immediately down.

Sideswipe groaned and shook his head holding up his hand to show Sunny he didn't need any help as he stood on wobbly knees. Because of her poor eye sight when it came to distance, Diana was unsure but she thought she saw a familiar swinging tail behind the mech's head but that quickly vanished and she wasn't sure if she saw it at all.

Jazz stomped up to the big mechs and slammed his fist against the wall, "What the frag are you two doin'?!"

The twins flinched at Jazz's harsh voice.

"Are you tryin' to bring down the whole dam?!"

Sunstreaker shrugged, "Sides here still has fragments of the virus, he… got a little carried away and I got annoyed." He explained quickly, hoping they'd avoid punishment.

"Hmph." Jazz looked into the large room where Frenzy was still strapped to the interrogation table. The Decepticon shrugged his shoulders when he received a distasteful glare as if he were to blame for the destruction all around him. The walls were riddled with deep holes and scuff marks were all over the concrete flooring.

"…were you using exploding rounds Sunstreaker?"

The yellow twin looked away.

"Why would you use explosive plasma rounds on your own brother?" Jazz's voice was low and sinister, Sunstreaker slowly leaned away as the other came closer. Diana took this moment to make her exit before the wildfires came.

"_Optimus to Jazz."_

The lieutenant paused, narrowed his optics and shook a finger at Sunstreaker telling the twin without words that he was fraggin' lucky.

"Jazz here, go ahead Prime."

Zan must've been able to restore their planet side communications.

"_You need to prepare the OR for the injured. Firestar is going to need help."_

"Firestar is alive? How is she? Wait… what about Ratchet?"

"_He's missing in action. Once you've prepared the OR you need to come to these coordinates and help Arcee, have the twins keep the base secure until we can return."_

"Copy that." He gave the twins one final glare, "Put that slagger in an appropriate prison and when all this is over you two are repairing this room with your hands tied behind your backs!"

"Sir." They responded in unison.

"_And Jazz."_

"Yes sir?"

"_Don't bring Diana if she asks to come and help."_

"Why? She's gonna be worried about Stalker ya know."

"_I'll give the all clear of when she can see him. Prime out."_

Confused and concerned, Jazz reverted to his alt form and headed to the OR to quickly prepare it and then head out. He passed Diana who watched him curiously.

As soon as the Pontiac's engine purr faded away Sparkle stepped out from behind the corner where she'd been hiding. Luckily Jazz hadn't entered the room, if he had he would've seen her.

Frenzy looked up and clicked at her.

Sparkle knelt beside the low table, "Thank you Decepticon."

"_My comrades may want to subdue you but I want nothing of the sort, Avatar."_ He buzzed.

The twins stepped up to either side of Sparkle, waiting for her command. On the back of Sideswipe's neck, Sparky finished its transformation to camouflage against the red twin's armor. The drone dug deeper into Sideswipe's neural network from the forceful connection it had gained, obtaining further control for its mistress.

Sparkle stood and looked at the twins. Their optics were burning with animosity but they couldn't do anything about it with the original under outside influence.

"Carry on for now, but later I'm going to need your help."

They nodded in acknowledgement, less than gentle Sunny grabbed Frenzy and both stomped off. Clicking and screeching in Cybertronian to each other. Sparkle watched them go with a mixture of amusement and guilt.

_Poor Autobots…_

Sparkle made her way to the control room where the computer flickered to life at her approach. She pressed a few keys and the screen came to life showing the current deep space scans available from the rebound it got from the Ark hidden near Jupiter.

_Two more earth months… slag._

O

It was cold.

He felt sticky and sick.

Something…

He tried to move but his body refused to respond.

Muffled voices.

Bright blurs of light.

Something screeched and cracked apart.

Pain shot through his nerves at a pulsing rate.

He was being touched, how or for what purpose he couldn't determine. Was he that badly damaged? What happened?

Flickers.

Images, sounds, names recalled.

Fragments…

Nothing was complete. Every time he tried to bring up his memories they cut off half way through as if half his life had been erased. A sharp jittery feeling shot through him. He twitched in discomfort. What had that just been? Why was he shaking so badly? Was it the crash again? Shadow?! No… he, Stalker, had been searching for a friend.

It didn't make sense… why was he… so blind? What…

Something hard was thrust into his mouth and his insides convulsed with pain, hungry for the cold gas that was forced into him.

It burned! Stop it! No… don't… wait…

Stalker didn't understand, he wanted to scream, he tried to thrash but all he could manage was a few twitches.

What in all the Matrix was happening?! Primus! Diana? Anyone stop this torture!!

"He's choking again back off!" the human medic motioned for his assistant to retract the breathing tube and use another instrument to clear the suffering entity's throat of the mucus that covered the rest of his body.

Stalker felt hot liquids streaming down the sides of his face, he couldn't see! Too much light was being shined on his face. He tried to speak but instead of feeling his vocal processors vibrate to circulate air through for the correct sounds he choked and coughed painfully.

Choke and cough?

Again he felt the firm yet gentle hands thrust a hard tube into his mouth and give him the cold gas that he was longing for so badly burned for.

_Frag! Help! Someone!! Get these humans off me! _He made a pathetic attempt at getting up, instinctively he tried to claw at them. But nothing seemed to be working!

"His heart rate is too irregular, we need to get him stabilized before we move him." Someone said. Cold fingers and instruments made him flinch.

"Get Bumblebee out of here! Make sure he's warm too, the last thing we need is for him to get hypothermia on the way back to the surface!" Another voice, further away.

A scuffle and a thump, "Lennox we need to disarm these traps first! Watch your step! We have no clue what they'll do to a human!" that was Lieutenant Jazz's voice.

Stalker felt the hot liquids rush down his face again, he let out a whimper of pain as he was lifted off the ground and onto something less cold. He didn't understand, his sensors were offline. He felt, strange all over. Painfully, slowly, Stalker managed to open his vision. Oh that felt strange! What the pit was wrong with him?!

He saw Arcee walking next to him. She smiled reassuringly. Another femme one about Jazz's size that he didn't recognize, stood up from where she'd been kneeling over… Hotshot was it?

Arcee reached out and touched him, "You'll be alright, don't worry. The humans will take care of you until we can figure this out."

_Figure what out?_ He tried to say but Arcee left his line of sight and was replaced by a human medic. What the slag was with all these medics? He wanted this fraggin' thing out of his throat now! Wait… he didn't have a throat to speak of. Struggling through all the pain and confusion Stalker managed to lift his arm.

Only it wasn't _his_ arm.

He wasn't supposed to have a carbon based arm.

Unable to handle anymore, Stalker allowed the darkness to take him to oblivion.

**OOO**

**What's a good fanfic without the Autobots becoming human…ish for awhile? Keheheheheee… I can see the evilness now! Mwahahaha! –goes and stirs her cauldron of doom-**

**Bumblebee: ah slag…**

**Stalker: TAT I have a really bad feeling about this…**

**Bumblebee: Ya think?!?!**

**Hush you two.**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you iyloverz and inufreak831 for the adds!**

**Hmm, not much to say, kind of another transitional chapter. Damn it with me and my transitional chapters. I wanna get to the juicy stuffs!**

**Stalker: I'm scared of your juicy chapters**

**Bumblebee: ditto that **

**Hush! Don't make me reveal the behind the scenes jokes about you two!**

**Both: -cringes and hides-**

**Hmph, thought so.**

**Chapter 19:**

"So how's Hotshot?" Zack asked Firestar when the fembot exited the OR looking very tired. The Autobot had made planet fall a few weeks ago but had landed on the wrong continent and only now had managed to get here without attracting attention.

"I've managed to get most of the inhibitor nanytes out of his systems, he just needs to rest." Firestar reported. She walked over and leaned her back against the wall before sliding to a seated position, she pinched the bridge of her face, blue optics dim.

"Are _you_ ok?" Diana asked. Behind her Sparkle leaned against the wall as well folding her arms across her chest plate.

"I'm… a little overwhelmed. I'm just a medic technician not an actual doctor. I was really hoping to see Officer Ratchet when I arrived…" Firestar sighed heavily before composing herself as best she could, "Alas, the war continues on the fires of bitterness now."

Sensing that there was a deep history somewhere between the bots, Diana sidled up to the femme and placed a reassuring hand on her elbow, "Don't worry, Ratchet's a tough old bot he'll probably knock down the door soon ranting about how annoying the twins are."

Firestar snickered, "Hopefully." She looked up at the fembot across from her. The humans noticed that the, not necessarily hostile but disapproving look Sparkle was giving the tech.

Diana shrugged off whatever ill will was registering from the red mech, "So, what about Bumblebee and Stalker? How're they?"

As if on cue Jazz came out of the OR, the doors hissing shut behind him, "Zack, I need you to come with me."

The young man tilted his head, "What for?"

"I just need you and Sam to accompany me. I need your help with something."

"Oh… ok." He exchanged a strange look with Diana who just shrugged. The two exited the base, Zack riding in the Pontiac's passenger seat and listening to whatever Jazz was informing him of.

The humans were sorely left out of the loop, they hadn't been allowed to see the recent load that had been hauled into the base recently and that made Diana all the more worried. In fact the base was alive with scientists from the disbanded Sector Seven who kept coming in and out of the OR either to get something from one of the hummers loaded with supplies or to make a call from the command center. She met everyone with a suspicious glare, as if any of them would jump her at any moment.

Firestar excused herself and went back inside to help with what ever was going on.

"Can I _please_ see Stalker?" Diana called after her.

She looked over her shoulder, "I'm sorry Diana but Commander Prime specifically told me not to let you in."

"Not even to see Bee?"

A head shake.

"What the hell! Give me a hint or something!!" anger boiled in her veins.

"I'm sorry." The doors hissed shut.

"Arhg!!" Diana growled and stomped away.

"Wait."

She turned her fierce gaze on Sparkle.

The red mechanoid knelt to her face level, "If you activate my extension while I'm in there, I can connect and show you what is happening."

"Really?" Diana pulled up her sleeve to look at the accessory, "How do I do that?"

"Just circle your finger around the orb once clockwise but wait till I'm inside."

"Thanks! You're the best Sparkle!" Diana backed up a few steps before running to find a less obvious spot to activate the orb. She didn't want Ironhide or someone walking up behind her and seeing.

Pleased at being addressed by her appropriate name, Sparkle entered the OR.

After doing as directed, Diana watched as the orb started to glow. A symbol floated from its deep depths, then that faded and an image appeared crystal clear except around the edges.

"Cool, I'm looking through her eyes!" Diana squealed quietly in happiness.

The first thing she saw was Hotshot laying in stasis on one of the Autobot sized beds. He twitched occasionally, his systems trying to absorb the last of the poison. Sparkle walked straight through the humans running about discussing things and writing things down. She didn't avoid them like the other bots did, it seemed she walked with an attitude of self-importance. The next image Diana saw made her gawk in horror.

They were like an uprooted plant from hell was the best she could describe it. The devices were scattered evenly apart from each other, saw-like tentacles hanging limply from their sensitive core. Two of them had their appendages lifted like a horrible bloom hungry for blood. Only instead they were hungry for the brains of their tightly bound captives which happened to be Stalker and Bumblebee. The two Autobots were still and limp, their optics as dark as death. Firestar was discussing something with much intensity with Optimus Prime and several of the scientists who were standing in a semi-circle around the traps.

"Holy shit…" Diana whispered, feeling her blood grow cold.

Firestar slammed her foot down yelling something but immediately calmed down when Optimus snarled something back.

At that moment the orb went dark.

"Fuckers!" Diana yelled as she ran from where she'd been hiding. Her hate wasn't directed at the Autobots, well maybe a little since they were trying to keep this from her, but mostly it was against who ever had laid out this sick trap! What's his face… didn't the Autobots call it a Predacon or something? Turantulas or something like that. Predicons were Decepticons that decided that an animal form suited their body better than a piece of human machinery.

"_If you'd like, I can have one of the twins take you to your partner."_ Sparkle's voice sounded from her wrist.

"What do you mean Sparkle?!" Diana hissed at the device.

"_The Decepticons are vying for time. This is to mess with your friend's heads. A good strategy actually: take out the support and the main force is vulnerable."_

"And?"

"_They're consciousness has been moved out of their bodies."_

Suddenly Sunstreaker pulled up next to Diana and popped open his passenger nearly scaring the living daylights out of the human. How did these huge guys move so stealthily?! She shrugged off the mental question and hopped into the Viper. As soon as they left base a hologram flickered to life in the driver's seat, a fair skinned young man with golden brown hair and of course bright blue eyes. His expression was less than happy but Diana didn't notice. She was busy fingering Stalker's extension.

_No wonder It had stopped working…_ she thought. The scenery flew by in a blur and before she knew it they were pulling into the parking lot of a private hospital in downtown Tranquility.

A look of confusion crossed her features, "What're we doing here?" she asked.

"Third floor, room 217. Just tell them Prime sent you."

"… are you ok Sunny?"

The hologram's features pulled up in a roar, "No! I'm not! Nothing personal but you need to go."

Diana lifted her hands in surrender, "I'm going I'm going!" The Viper barely waited till the girl stepped out of his form before burning rubber.

Walking through the halls of yet another hospital was less than inviting to Diana as she swiftly weaved her way through the medical personnel, civilians and patients. She kept glancing over her shoulder expecting to see the agents with their sleek coats and ominous glasses any moment.

_Get a grip Diana! _

She thought fiercely as she almost missed a ride in the elevator.

"… what the hell is going on Sam?!" Makaela's voice cut into the silence as soon as the doors slid open.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Diana entered the scene without skipping a beat.

Both Sam and Zack were blocking Makaela's entry through some double doors and looked quite helpless now that two angry girls were facing them.

Zack sighed deeply, "Diana you were told to stay at home!"

"Screw you! I saw the traps, I was told what they do. My partner is stuck with a brain sucker on his head and so is Bumblebee and now I'm here in a hospital for _humans_!" she planted her feet and crossed her arms, eyes burning into both of them. Daring them to deny her an answer.

"What happened?" Makaela asked in shock, only now receiving this information, "Sam just got picked up by Jazz and I had to run here and all Sam said was that Bee was in trouble!"

"That's what I'd like to know!"

"Look, you two can't go in there!" Sam warned.

Slowly, slowly Diana walked up to Sam pulling herself to her full height, "Then, enlighten us of the situation." She hissed.

"We can't." Zack tried to divert his friend's hostility from Sam. At least he could handle it to a degree. But the animosity that he was feeling from Diana wasn't comforting at all, "Optimus hasn't given us the all clear. Plus you two weren't supposed to come here in the first place!" The event that unfolded next happened so fast Diana didn't have time to regret her actions.

She pulled her hand back and slammed the heel of her palm against both boys faces one after the other, "Fuck Optimus and his orders! I want to know what's going on!!" she screamed. The boys doubled over, eyes stinging with tears and their noses dripping with blood. Makaela had flinched at the intense outburst but made no attempt to defend them. Diana reached for the doors only to have them burst open in her face and Arcee came rushing out. She snagged both females by the collars of their shirts holding them in place. It was an odd sight to see the mechanoid in any other place beside the base or outside. But she was the only other Autobot that didn't exceed ten feet.

"You don't have clearance." She stated firmly.

"That's not fair! You're a girl too!" Makaela yelled.

"I don't have human pheromones though."

Immediately both stopped struggling and stared.

Diana gargled and pointed at herself, Arcee set her down on her feet with a 'sorry'.

"What the hell are you talking about? Sparkle told me that their brains got taken out or something." Diana rubbed where her shirt had choked her.

"They did." Arcee clasped her digits together behind her back, "Their consciousness was transferred to a humanoid carbon based form, what we have so far is that this body is called a synthoid."

"Whoa whoa whoa back up three steps here!" Diana said, "These bodies… synthoids whatever… are you saying this trap turned Stalker and Bumblebee… human?"

"In a sense."

Diana blinked a few times. She wasn't sure she wanted to digest what she'd just heard. Beside her Makaela was in the same state of shock.

"I thought that too." Arcee said. She maneuvered the girls so that they were sitting down in the waiting room chairs should they might pass out. Zack and Sam excused themselves to get cleaned up and have their noses checked to make sure they weren't broken.

"Turantulas chose his trap well." Arcee explained, "We don't have the instincts humans do hardwired into your brains to do things like breath and pump the heart. They're incapacitated at the moment."

"You mean they're hooked up to those crazy machines just to keep them alive?" Makaela finally managed to pipe. Diana was still staring at the fem.

Arcee nodded, "The doctors are trying to find a solution but it is difficult."

"So if they're conked out why can't we go see them?" Makaela asked.

"For one thing they're unconscious. For another is that Optimus said it is best if we don't introduce them to any estrogen for the time being just to be safe, we haven't been able to study their physic very long obviously. They're too busy trying to keep them alive, the process was crude, not all of their memories may have made it through in the process of transfer."

Diana suddenly turned on Zack who walked in with a cool cloth on his face and pointed, " I am _not_ teaching them hygiene!" Zack coughed and retraced his steps.

Makaela smacked her friend's arm, "Diana! Do you realize this is mortifying for the Autobots as well! They were just transferred from their body into a completely alien thing!"

"I'm sorry! This… randomness is just…"

"You, I know." Arcee chuckled numbly, "Well since you're here you might as well get comfortable. Just don't count on seeing them any time soon." She stood and went back inside the double doors. The girls sat in silence, Makaela twiddling her thumbs while Diana sat and stared at the opposite wall.

After a moment Makaela noticed that the black haired girl was on the verge of crying.

"You ok?" she asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Not all of their memories may have passed… that-that's not cool. What if they never get all their memories back?" Diana shuffled her feet slightly, "Not only that… it… well everything changes when you're not in the same body."

"What do you mean?"

"Give them a sex drive and their opinion of you changes even if it's not consciously." Diana muttered bitterly. She wanted so badly to go see how Stalker was doing but at the same time she didn't want to chance forever changing their relationship. It just wouldn't be the same to face the little guy as squishy to squishy. It just wasn't done. Diana looked up to see a spider examining its web in the corner. She glared at it, as if it was Turantulas himself. This annoying Predacon had kidnapped Arcee, currently held Ratchet captive and doing who knows what kind of horrors to the doctor, and he'd just forever traumatized two Autobots that held the sparks and hearts of all the Autobots and their allies. Makaela watched Diana for a long unwavering moment, she could almost feel the acrimony radiating off of the young lady. The girls' normally joyful brown eyes had darkened to pitch black to match her mood even.

Makaela followed the other's gaze to the spider in the corner. Strangely enough although not shocking, the spider seemed to be fretting over something she couldn't see. After awhile the spider gave a huge twitch and fell to the floor, dead. Diana continued to glare at the spider.

O

Another night, another dream.

Diana had fallen asleep leaning Makaela's shoulder, waiting for the angry barrage that Optimus would surely give them. This bothered Makaela to a degree but for Diana, she didn't care much. She was too busy replaying the events of the day over and over until she grew sick of it. Sleep was a welcome neighbor to invite to her party of stress.

Ever since she was little Diana had often had vivid dreams that had a bad habit of coming true. She found that she only dreamed of things that would affect her greatly. Sure sometimes the dreams meanings weren't always clear but eventually they made sense. Like when Stalker had followed her rapist home. Before she'd been taken to the base she had had a dream that Stalker had been reveling in a pool of bad blood. Diana had put that horrifying image away until Stalker had returned from the ordeal. Although it had scared her at first, the dream had made sense. Stalker had killed someone that had ill will toward her.

This dream made no common sense to her. Perhaps she was stressing out too much.

The expanse she walked across glowed with soft pastels that curved into each other. The glassy surface she walked on rippled like water at her passage but she didn't sink or get wet. Diana could see her reflection clearly except it wasn't her in that reflection.

She didn't have time to contemplate the unknown on the other side because a foreign movement caught her attention.

Frenzy stood before her, his reflection that of Stalker.

It was like she was in two places at once, for there was no up or down or left or right or even here or there. She saw both bots the same way. All she knew was that her consciousness was there.

What portrayed both Frenzy and Stalker held out their sharp digits, inviting her to take it.

The pastels were no longer rounded, they were sharp and pulsed at their corners instead of somewhere in their center. The lines reminded Diana of the symbols that marked Sparkle's armor. But they were unclear, flickering in and out. Combining with symbols she recognized slightly in the English alphabet.

Diana looked back at Stalker and Frenzy, unsure of what she should do.

Isn't it obvious?

Stepping forward Diana took both of their thin hard hands in her one, they curled their digits gently around hers. Bright blue light erupted in bolts from her body all around causing the pastels to roil into darkness on both sides of the reflections, a scream of utter rage echoed across the plains of thoughts.

With a jolt of adrenaline Diana snapped out of her sleep holding her breath.

"Whoa!" Makaela jumped, "Jeez, you were barely asleep one minute!"

Diana's wide eyes blinked before she gasped, forgetting that she hadn't been breathing, "Pah! Seriously? I was hoping a few hours went by." _It sure had felt like eternity in my head._ The dream was still buzzing gaudily in the forefront of her mind.

O

"You're girlfriend hits hard damn it!" Sam complained as a nurse gave him the clear and some painkillers. His eyes were still stinging with tears.

"She's not my girlfriend. Optimus was an idiot to have us come and leave the girls out of the loop." Zack retorted, "Especially with Stalker on the line."

"What _is_ their relationship? I mean, I know she cares for him n all from the way she reacted by my telling her of the Allspark." Sam felt completely out of the loop ever since this girl had arrived. Bumblebee had spent most of the time at the base since Arcee's arrival. It wasn't like he didn't mind too much, Bumblebee wasn't just his guardian anymore. But he did miss the Camaro's company.

"As far as I know they're partners in battle and in peace. I moved out of Oregon before Diana met Stalker so I wasn't around to watch their relationship bloom. Diana and I have been friends almost all our lives is our story." Zack explained.

"Well… I guess I'd do the same thing if I was denied a visit to my best friend's without explanation." Sam sat against a counter.

"No kidding." Zack tenderly touched his nose and cringed at his mistake.

An hour passed and Arcee came back out to find the girls in the same place she'd left them to her convenience, "They're out of surgery, you can come see them."

"Surgery?" Makaela asked.

"Their bodies weren't perfect." Was all Arcee explained before gesturing for them to follow her.

The Autobot wouldn't allow them to actually enter the room so they'd been placed where an observation window was available. Diana noticed how the doctors all wore blank uniforms, not even name tags. Obviously government people and that didn't make her feel any better. She wanted them all just to get their job done and go away. Stay away.

"Here."

Diana zipped up her coat all the way to her throat before stepping in front of the viewing glass.

There were two beds next to each other spaced out by medical machines, long cables, cords and tubes. The sleeping figures looked as if the plastics and metal were growing out of their bodies from where the equipment was connected to their chests. A breathing respirator was taped to their mouths, forcing the oxygen to flow into their starved lungs. The sight was pitiful and painful to Diana. Not a year ago she'd been in the same comatose state when she'd gotten infected.

The synthoid furthest from them near the window was a young fair skinned adolescent with short almost fuzzy blonde hair tipped in black. One could assume from the color coordination that that was Bumblebee. Closer to them was Stalker, looking a few years older than the scout. He was taller than Diana now. With creamy tan skin and longish spikey black hair tipped in green. He shuddered a moment in silent pain before returning to his rhythm of breathing. He was coated in a light layer of sweat that caused him to glisten in the dim light.

The three watched as a male nurse went inside and proceeded to cool the synthoids off with a wet iced rag.

"Initial scans indicate we might not have to worry about them when it comes to sexual activity."

Diana jumped, not realizing how high strung she'd become in the silence, "Huh?"

"The instinct to breed will be low next to non existent. Basically it's because the urge is not hard wired into their unconsciousness so I doubt they'll be sexually active." Arcee theorized, all the while she'd been looking at Diana. It wasn't a popular topic in the base, but the word had gotten out about why Stalker had broken the rules of hiding. Arcee knew that the girl had a distaste for the urge of sex.

"Ok, but that's _initial_ scans." Diana looked back at the synthoid that currently held Stalker prisoner.

"You're correct, that's why as soon as they're deemed ready to move they'll be brought back to the base where we can use Ratchet's medical equipment." Arcee explained, "My own scanners and intuition aren't meant exactly for this sort of thing."

"Hopefully Firestar can help." Diana said without looking back, "Speaking of which… have they found Ratchet yet?"

Sadly Arcee shook her head, "Optimus has sent out other Autobots, ones you haven't met because we're spread out right now, but they haven't found any trace of him."

"Damn spider bots are good… I don't get how they can be so covert as giant spiders though." Makaela hissed.

"A good question, one that we don't have an answer to."

"He's crying."

Makaela and Arcee looked up.

Despite the drugs that were supposed to keep the synthoids in a deep and undisturbed sleep, Stalker was showing signs that he was retaining the fortitude of his true self. He hiccupped, a very small one but even that seemed to hurt him. The tears seemed to have no end to them.

Diana exhaled deeply, then pushed aside her personal discomforts and proceeded to enter the room. Arcee watched but didn't try to stop the youngling this time. Sure she would never hear the end of it from Optimus but at this moment she was in charge of the outfit. She'd deal with Optimus when the time came.

Immediately the scent of morpheme, sweat and blood filled Diana's nose as she entered. Blowing it out sharply, she stood next to Stalker's bed. She could only imagine the pain both were going through.

_Why couldn't my dreams have warned me about this?_

Slowly, hesitantly Diana reached out to touch Stalker's alien face.

His skin felt fragile, like a baby's.

Well in all technicalities they _had _just been born.

The synthoid suddenly twitched away from her fingers. High on painkillers Stalker wasn't able to control his movements well (not that he really could in the first place), but he did manage to pry open his eyelids partly to see what had disturbed him.

Diana tilted her head in fascination, unlike what she'd expected to be pure yellow eyes the pupils were a multitude of colors. Starting from the outermost of the retinas was a bright ring of gold, gradating to a bright small circle of green then fluorescent blue around the pupil which wasn't completely black in itself. If one looked very carefully they could see a pale mist of blue in the center. The bright colors against his dark skin gave him a very exotic look.

What a human would describe as feeling dreamlike Stalker described as introverted. His perception completely clouded and distorted, sense of time completely gone. Nothing was real to him anymore.

The familiar face was though.

Stalker couldn't put it into words what he felt when he saw her again, even if it was only for a few seconds before he slipped back into his drugged sleep. But it was different, the way he saw the organic entity. The moment would've been… perfect had pain not been pulsing through his nervous system.

"Stalker?" prompted she.

Painfully at first, then confidently Stalker managed to coordinate the muscle tissue in his arm to reach out albeit blindly toward the girl's soft calling. He whimpered, not understanding how to manipulate his new vocals yet.

"Shh shh."

His hand was taken in hers.

_As you would say… this certainly sucks._ Stalker thought before his mind completely shifted back into stasis.

O

It was very aggravating not having a Decepticon medic type at their disposal. They had to rely on preprogrammed nanytes and their own regenerative capabilities to repair themselves but it just wasn't fast enough!

Starscream shifted his position from where he sat in the abandoned air hanger. His wing had been torn and his chest plate had a deep slash in it, making him vulnerable to a frontal strike if it happened. The huge jet warrior growled, blazing red optics narrowing in frustration and anger from his most recent battle. As far as they could tell the Avatar had only been at partial power and she'd still beaten all of them even though it was 7 to 1. She was small too, barely as big as that irritating tick Bumblebee.

Suddenly a skittering caught his attention and he looked up with distaste to see Turantulas, "What do you want, Predicon."

"A discussion on a change of tactics." The mechanoid spider threaded his webbing and dropped down, hanging in front of the transformed jet, "She didn't react as predicted."

"Anything else you want to point out that's not so obvious?!" Starscream snarled.

"You and Thundercracker spent the most time with her, did she not say anything peculiar that can be of use to us?"

Starscream snorted but leaned back on his better arm and recalled the few days he and his wingman had spent flying with the Avatar. She hadn't said much, just… enjoyed their company it seemed. Although she probably wasn't thinking such soft thoughts about them now.

He looked back at the scientist, "She did mention having an affinity with a human that is in the care of the Autobots." He filed through his memories a second longer, "Diana is what she's designated as."

"Then she may actually have attachments. An Avatar's love for our race is unconditional as the legends go, they'll only defend themselves when need be… like when we tried to overwhelm her."

"A mistake I'm not going to remake." Starscream grunted as he stood, favoring one leg, "We have the Autobot medic in our custody do we not? Unless you disgusting Predicons have already drained him of his hydraulic fluids."

Turantulas hissed, "As tempting as that is, no. I don't know what Blackarachnia wants in her personal time with the Autobot scum, the witch has grown crafty in her inventions as of late."

"Tell her that she needs to get him to repair us, these wounds won't heal fast enough on their own. Soon the Autobots will figure out how to undo your little trap if Wheeljack arrives before we're healed." The Decepticon shuffled over to a small console and tapped a key. A hologram appeared, showing the planets current position as well as other things.

One particular blip Starscream tapped with the tip of his sharp digit and it enhanced to reveal several cometary forms with Autobot signatures.

"We have three days to get this Avatar under our thumb or else everything will become a _lot_ harder. Having the humans demolished will be the first step, they may be inferior but they can cause enough damage with their great numbers to be effective."

"What makes you think you can get even within ten miles of Diana? She's always in the vicinity of the Autobots." Asked the spider bot, who swung on his thread to face the console for a better look. He didn't want to transform, his healing was done better in his beast mode.

Starscream didn't answer for a long time. Then he straightened up as best as his damaged frame would allow, "… I can get Diana to come to me." He looked up at the armored arachnid, "Get Blackarachnia to subdue the good doctor in anyway she can. In order to do this I'm going to need to be in prime condition in case it fails."

"As you command." Turantulas retreated to the ceiling and proceeded to crawl through the giant whole that burrowed into the side of the mountain they were hiding in. He didn't like the idea of Starscream gaining the advantage over the Avatar, he was going to need a serious back up plan if the air head decided to throw them all to the Pit.

Climbing onto the wall Turantulas made his way through the maze of tunnels to the femme's section of their lair. If one paid attention their web patterns were distinctly different, his with harsh blue edges and hers silver blue with a touch of luminosity in their softness.

The thick arachnid glanced up when he heard the femme sliding down her threads from the darkness. Gingerly landing on her webbing just above him and hissed, "What do you want?" she must've been in stasis when he tripped their sensitive webbing, alerting her of a foreigner in her domain.

"Starscream does not have the patience to wait for nature to take its course, he wants you to make it so the doctor will do our bidding." Turantulas explained.

"Hmph." She ran one of her long legs along a particular thread, testing its tension. For a moment she said nothing and Turantulas thought she just wasn't going to listen the Decepticon's demand.

"That will take time." She said at last.

"How long?"

"Depends on how strong his concious will is. If he were in his proto form it would be easy," The femme arachnid shuddered slightly, why Turantulas couldn't tell.

"You honestly think you can reprogram him? He doesn't have the same brain chemistry as we beast bots do."

"I'll manage, if not permanently then just long enough for him to heal Starscream." She dropped down to where the other was, "Now get out, I have work to do." She waited until her threads stopped vibrating, indicating he'd left for good.

Low on Energon and still stiff from the remnants of poison, Ratchet didn't care which way was up or down. All he knew was that he was plastered to a wall, arms spread wide and unable to move. He heard the sifting of silky threads and his optics came online. It was complete darkness but unlike a human Ratchet could still see without the use of lights.

The Predicon climbed up the wall only just clearing his mass. She reached out with her pincer like feelers and examined his face by touch.

Ratchet didn't like the way she examined him but did his best not to show it. It was a grueling fact of those sick minded war mongerers that if you showed you disliked something, it would only be taken advantage of. Slowly, she moved from his face to his chassis and to his relief, stopped.

"Clever." She commented, "If I tried to access your brain through your neck wires I'd have to snap off your head, unlike other Cybertronians." she'd been deep scanning him. It appeared that with the beast bots that could only be done through touch. A strange malforming in his opinion, and a huge discomfort in his current situation.

"It's to keep twisted vile decrepid wrinkled forms like you from messing with my head." Ratchet snorted. He bit back a scream of agony when she stabbed her bladed leg into his shoulder. A doctor's anatomy was different than that of a battle type. Since the doctor was granted the gift of so much knowledge of how to heal his or her fellows, they had to make sure that that knowledge was kept safe from outside sources.

"Then it's a good thing us beast bots have to be in constant sync with both." She transformed and took out a scalpel blade from a subspace pocket. The blade hummed with plasma energy as she cut away the bars that protected his chassis from direct bludgering hits, "Doctor's have a strong mind, let's see how strong your spark is."

Ratchet threw himself forward as far as he could, his efforts rewarding him by making contact with the arachnid's head. She screeched in anger pushing herself back rubbing the pain away with her humanoid hand. Her dark red optics glared at the doctor then softened as she smiled.

"So full of life... I like that." Repositioning herself with her legs potruding from her back directly over the Autobot, she latched onto his chest plate with two seperate threads attached on specific areas. When she was done she had an intricate pully system without the need of metal or other materals. Gingerly she pulled on the threads. Ratchet's eyes widened in shock as the pressure created made his armor creak with strain. He flexed his hydrolics, grunting in the effort to keep himself closed off, "Care to share some of that life?"

**OOO**

**There!! Done with the darn transitional chapters!!!**

**I know that it may seem a bit rushed but… I'm tired. Plus I need to crack down on homework, scholarships and grants for the moment. But no worries my fellow readers! I shall not let this fic die! Especially since I'm done with the small chapters like this one.**

**Oh dear… damn these spiders for being so sadistically creepy that they make really good bad guys… whether or not I pull it off as creepy is not up to me though.**

**Next chapter there'll be plenty of stuffs for both Stalker/Diana lovers and Bee/Arcee lovers. Oh yes and Jazz lovers, there'll be plenty of him. And Sparkle XD**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thank you for the adds Signup Free, Lnzy1, Willow Tracy, Elita One, TrueBardDrakona, dragonrider33 and Camarogirl16.**

**Holy crap! Everyone gets cookies! It's the chapter 20 mark!!! –does a little dance-**

**Sorry about the false alarm before!**

**Chapter 20:**

The buzz of so many humans in her vicinity was irritating Sparkle to the point where she considered eliminating them all but decided against it because this was not her place to make such a decision. Sparkle was a little irked at how these humans acted like they actually knew something about them and their technology. That was one of the reasons she liked Diana so much was because the human female just accepted them for who they were without too much of a thirst for how they existed.

Instead she wandered to the mess hall where she found Firestar leaning over the transformer size counter, face in her arms.

She hesitated, then her conscious got the better of her and she entered the room sitting next to the field medic, "Aren't you supposed to be helping in the OR?" Sparkle asked.

Firestar glanced up, "I couldn't concentrate, all the others kept looking at me for the answers. I just got sick of it." Her vocals were straining, as if she'd exhausted them, "I'm not as knowledgeable or as wise as Ratchet on these things."

Sparkle placed a comforting hand on the medic, "There there, help is on the way. You won't be alone in this for very long." Her touch allowed her access the energies burning within the femme's spark chamber. There was something odd about it. It took Sparkle a only a moment to identify the anomaly.

"I know but it's just… a little overwhelming. I've been on the run and in hiding almost all my life and then I make planetfall on the wrong side of this dirt ball but still in high hopes of meeting a friendly face. Then when I arrive I find the horror that two of our soldiers have been turned into aliens, my bonded is missing and I'm left to treat them." Firestar's frame shook with anxiety. Slowly Sparkle pulled her hand off and looked away. Silence hung in the mess hall like a curtain of death.

Sparkle kept her voice as even as possible, "There's something else that's bothering you." Firestar looked up at this, surprised.

The red mech finally met the other's optics, "What ails you?"

Firestar shook her head, clearing her thoughts trying to not jumble the fear filled words erupting in her core, "Something's wrong with Ratchet, I can feel it. Something's gone horribly wrong! I don't know what exactly… but whatever the Decepticons are doing to him…" Sparkle's eyes widened with shock and uncertainty when Firestar grabbed her in an embrace, "We can't do anything about it right now… it's not fair."

Sparkle closed her optic ridges, recalling all of her experiences with the doctor. She hadn't known him that long but it was all very precious to her.

"Did you voice your concerns to Optimus?" she asked finally.

"I did, all he said was that the teams he'd sent were doing all they can to find him. Sparkle! It hurts!" Transformers couldn't cry in the way humans could, but she was definitely weeping hard enough to bring the stars from the sky. Firestar's lament was met with a hand on her chassis gently pushing her away. She looked up through quivering optics at the other.

"At least you have the luxury of living the pain."

"W-what?"

Sparkle shook her head slowly, "Never mind. Firestar, you are a strong individual. Otherwise why would the Allspark grant you the blessing of healing? Perhaps you should focus on sending him messages of strength and hope rather than wallowing in self pity. That is my bit of advice." _Then again what would I know…_

After a moment of consideration Firestar nodded, "Yes, yes that makes sense. Thank you." She grabbed the cube of high grade before her and finished it off. Hopping off the chair the medic shook herself, finding her center. She thanked the neutral again and left to find something constructive to do.

Sparkle continued to keep the mess hall with her company, leaning on the counter staring at her hands.

"If I'm so great, Primus… how come I'm… how come we're not allowed to experience what we were meant to keep alive?"

Of course only her companion of stillness answered her prayer.

O

Two days of Diana avoiding Optimus' communications, cafeteria food and cots and the synthoids had made a definite improvement. Their hearts were now beating steadily on their own and what would've taken months to recover from in surgery took them the first day. Diana was a frequent visitor to the synthoids and managed to avoid the Autobots who were trying to contact her except for the twins and Sparkle who helped her. Arcee was having her sonic processors chewed out by Ironhide and an Autobot called Prowl that Diana had yet to see, but from what she heard about the bot he wasn't going to get along very well with her.

Bumblebee was the first to be awakened completely.

His bright blue eyes darted around the room in fear, it was completely a foreign concept for him to be shorter than Arcee for one thing, and at eye level with humans in a hospital. Stalker took the size change with less trouble having always been small and never looked at. Stalker would often greet Diana when he was awake with a lift of his hand, which she would take in both of hers and squeeze gently.

"I can't make up excuses any longer Diana." Arcee said the second morning after she entered the room, "You'll have to talk to Commander Prime soon."

"I know." Diana responded with half a heart. She was busy wiping away the sweat that was making Stalker's green bangs matt against his skin. The synthoid closed his eyes against the relieving coolness of the cloth. It reminded him of when he'd almost overheated and Shadow had poured water over his entire physique. When that had been he couldn't remember. There was a lot of things he couldn't remember, and that bothered him.

"You know… what goes in must come out."

Arcee shifted her weight, "Come again?"

"Regenerating this fast… that requires materials from the body. Has anyone been feeding these two? And what're you just standing there for, Bumblebee has a fever go cool him off!" the marksman beeped in surprise when a soaked rag splatted against her arm. Diana laughed at the bots clueless expression, "Just go over there and wipe off all his sweat on his face, neck and chest. Sweat helps yeah but this helps too, plus it feels better. Right Stalker?"

The synthoid smiled after a moment of coordinating his face muscles and nodded slowly. He was still in a lot of pain but instead of a shooting sensation along his nervous system it was more of a dull ache all over, especially in his head. _Is physical pain always such a constant companion to a human?_

Bumblebee was dozing when Arcee approached, so when a few cold droplets splashed onto his neck he jumped and stared up at the disturbance.

"I apologize Bee." The femme proceeded to do as Diana instructed.

Diana couldn't help but laugh when Bumblebee flushed bright red when the femme pulled down his hospital sheet they claimed was a robe to get to his chest. The blonde squirmed and tried to get Arcee to stop but was also giggling. A feat that both hurt and pleased him.

"Aww! Bee's ticklish! That's sooooo adorable!" Diana cackled. She looked at Stalker who was smirking at the other synthoid's trouble (trouble Arcee seemed to like giving). He saw how his partner was looking at him and his smirk vanished.

"As I recall…"

_Please don't…_

"… you're ticklish yourself mister!"

His multicolored eyes widened and he tried to turn over to protect his front side from Diana who was waggling her fingers at him, coming ever so closer. He whimpered.

"Oh for heaven's sake! I'm not even touching you and you're already laughing!" Diana huffed, while at the same time trying to hide her amusement.

_What in all the Pit is wrong with these bodies?! Are they ultra sensitive or something?_ Stalker thought while trying to suppress his laughter. He didn't know what it was about Diana's threatening approach but it was funny.

Having finished cooling off Bee, Arcee stood back watching her battle partner struggle to tug his shirt back in the appropriate position. It was both a pitiful and an humorous sight she had to admit.

"Psh! Silly. Well, you two are going to have to learn on how to multitask as a human…er I mean synthoid humanoid…. whatever! Stop laughing at me Arcee!" she threw her remaining rag at the femme who caught it this time.

The two looked at each other then back at Diana.

_What?_

"Well you can't go running around without being able to chew gum or drink water while walking, oh and talking on your cell phone while walking and/or other things. There's also the whole eating thing, we tend to use both fork and knife! You'll have to coordinate yourselves on that! And then there's the whole don't breath while you're drinking water thing… we humans cannot breath and drink at the same time! Catchin' my drift you two?" she asked.

Again they looked at each other.

_We're so dead._ Thought Bumblebee.

_I have a new found respect for you._ Stalker thought.

"Hey hey let's not get ahead of ourselves!" Arcee adjusted the tubing so that it wasn't bothering Bumblebee's neck, "We don't know if they'll be this way long enough to _need_ to know those actions."

"Primus and God forbid I agree! But it'll give these two bed sour…. dudes something to do while they wait for this what's his face? Wheeljack? Trust me, another day of laying down and they'll be begging for something to do." Diana explained then pointed to herself, "Remember? I've been this situation before… well not _this_ one oh please never this. But you get my drift."

_Oh trust me Dia, it's not boring laying here in a completely foreign body._

Arcee snickered, "When the doctor's declare they are ready to move we'll--." She stopped when she heard a strange gurgling sound.

Both girls looked at the synthoids.

Stalker looked away, for some reason feeling embarrassed at the gnawing sensation in his midsection. Bumblebee's blush was more obvious because of his fair skin. He sank deeper into the bed.

"Keh! Great, now I have to teach them how to chew." Diana snorted.

"I've calculated what I think to be an appropriate calorie consumption for them. Since they appear to be regenerating at a far superior rate than a normal human - ."

"Screw calculations!" Diana's eyes gleamed, "These two need to know what it's like inside the human culture! Fast food! Expensive restaurants and parties are the way to go! Yes!" she punched the air in her excitement. She felt the other three's stares boring into her.

She bowed with one hand on her chest, "Yes I am crazy." Suddenly she pointed at Stalker, "And you! _You _my fine stealthy friend still owe me a date to a dance party!"

His eyes widened with horror before he looked at Arcee with pleadingly. _Don't let her take me! Please please! I can't believe Diana is actually taking that bet seriously!!! _

"Diana I don't think that's such a good idea…"

_What she said! _(gurgle) _Frag… who knew requiring nourishment as a human felt so annoying!_ Stalker tried to be discreet in pressing his hand against his babbling stomach.

"Hmm, well we do the breathing issue…"

"That's not what I meant."

Diana looked up when she noted the loss of playfulness in the other's voice, "I know you're worried Arcee but - ."

"Do you now?"

The two males tensed at the femme's tone.

"Arcee, I'm not saying go out there with no 'just in case' plan. But you know, for once I'd like to bring Stalker with me and enjoy my time as a human again for a little bit. And Stalker was always telling me before, he'd rather try and understand us humans in our element but he can't do that with the government breathing down your necks. We can't pass this up! Who knows when you'll be allowed to reveal yourselves anyway." She looked at Bumblebee, "And I'm sure Bumblebee would like to know how we humans feel the outdoors. I heard him talking about how fascinating the woodlands are."

Arcee folded her arms and walked to the window. She parted the curtains only enough to be able to see below.

Keeping Diana from a scolding was one thing, allowing the synthoids outside with no medical personnel on hand was quite another. With no Ratchet or even Wheeljack to follow it was a huge risk since their lives were so delicate right now.

_Whap!_

Surprised and annoyed at having an empty cup thrown at her, Arcee turned a harsh glare at Diana.

Diana pointed at Bumblebee.

Indeed, the blonde was holding his position of having thrown the object. His face was frowning.

"What?"

Bumblebee thought a moment before signing a military hand sign for _"Go." _ It was a universal signal, used for when secrecy was needed and no communication even through a coded channel could be used.

"You want to go outside? Even in your condition?"

A nod.

Arcee narrowed her optic ridges, "This isn't the kind of fun that if you make a mistake you can undo it."

Bumblebee shrunk his palms together and made a cut throat movement.

"Say that again?"

_Frag… I don't know whether this is as bad as having Megatron rip my vocals out or worse… well ok it's worse because I _have_ the ability to speak I just can't use it! Plus I'm in a fragile organic form!_ Bumblebee tried again, this time pointing at himself, shrinking motion and then remaking the cut throat movement.

A moment of consideration.

"You… you're not a sparkling anymore?"

_Yes._

"Well duh! You're a humanoid now!"

Bumblebee sighed.

Diana stepped forward, "Arcee, if you do allow us to go, we won't go anywhere you guys can't get to. I can ask the twins to stay close by, it should only be for a few hours any way."

"No." she held up her hand before any outbursts could be done, "_I'll_ take care of Bumblebee. You, Diana will take care of Stalker and have the twins ready at all times for immediate emergency transport. But we will nourish them here, no restaurants." Her frame gave a shudder, "I've read up too many horror stories of dirty restaurants."

"Aww no KFC even?"

"No!" _Primus, don't let me be sent to the brig for this…_ the femme looked at Bumblebee. The synthoid smiled in thanks.

Stalker however was not so happy. He didn't mind going out and experiencing the culture for real instead of through the seams of a backpack… but a dance party? He'd looked up what a rave was when he'd been able. There was a lot of… what did Diana always say about Hollywood movies? Oh yeah: sex, drugs and alcohol which lead to stupidity and accidents.

He glanced up at Diana who had joined Arcee by the window making their plan for the next day. Slowly he gulped oxygen in an exasperated sigh, it wasn't like he could do anything about it once she set her mind to something. Plus despite his agony… he was getting very annoyed having male doctor's and nurses examine him. It was very aggravating because it was difficult to fall asleep. Where as a Transformer he could've controled that function with a thought.

Situation: Trying to get to sleep in misery for about two hours, in two hours the nurse comes in and starts poking him with those cold fingers asking, "Are you awake?" _No I was dreaming of who I wanted to bond with of course I'm awake you idiotic flesh bag!_

_Stupid humans._

Stalker glanced at Bumblebee who was fiddling with his respirator. He waved to get the other's attention.

At first Bumblebee didn't understand why Stalker was giving him a very annoyed look. Then he realized, so just smiled and pulled up his thumbs in a good luck gesture. Wait, good luck? Didn't thumbs up to humans just mean good? Stalker was absolutely confused. He missed having unlimited access to the Internet.

O

Agreeing that the synthoids shouldn't go out in just a sheet with a hole in it for their heads (AKA hospital gown), Diana was sent off to the local clothes store with a credit card Arcee had provided for her. The teen didn't bother to ask where the money would come from. Diana made sure to pick clothes that were both warm and fashionable, it wouldn't do for them to go out looking like they'd just been at Death's doorstep a few days ago. Diana shoved all the clothing into one bag, paid and left the store.

She almost ran into the Peterbilt parked out front.

The passenger door opened.

For a very brief moment Diana considered denying the commander but then a warning from her father crossed her mind. It wasn't good to put off unfinished business. Plus she would disrespect a great leader who was only worried for the well being of his fellows.

_More like family despite the… military connections._ Diana thought as she hopped onto the step and pulled herself into the cabin. The semi's engine revved as it pulled away from the curb. Its windows tinted to hide the fact that there was no driver. Optimus didn't acknowledge the female settling herself in his interior except for buckling her in.

Silence was Diana's enemy. She hated it, and it loved to make her squirm.

The scenery passed by placidly, people coming and going, traffic, arguments, living. Diana found herself watching all of those people who were so oblivious to the universe. Not necessarily on purpose. These people, most of them were happy with their lives. Diana constantly was questioning whether she was happy with hers. Often during her stay she would wander outside and stare at the river, its power, its beauty dwarfing the rivers back at home. She longed to return to the cool shaded valley in Oregon where she'd grown up. Where during the winter sunshine was replaced with grueling rain clouds and the forests were thick with opportune and grass and flowers perfumed the air. But, she wanted to go back home with Stalker, him being able to walk freely beside her.

The young lady frowned. _Wish my dreams would show me that future._

Optimus drove to a secluded area in the suburbs where he parked and opened his door for Diana to step out. Before she'd even turned around she was in the middle of his transformation.

_Damn I forgot how tall he was… frak! Focus Diana! Focus!_

For a long moment Optimus loomed over her, his face a blank mask. The mech knelt to her level, "You disobeyed me." His tone wasn't angry, but it still made Diana want to cry. Many times her father had disciplined her about her grades and it hadn't been because he was angry it had been because he'd been disappointed and Diana hated disappointing her parents.

"What did you expect?" Diana tried to keep her voice even although it seemed a bit pointless since he could scan her body.

"I expected you to listen, Diana Shae."

"You wouldn't even tell me what was wrong! Of course I would jump at any chance to find out."

"You are young, I didn't want you to be introduced to the horrors Turantulas is capable of. You need to learn to be a better listener and follower."

"I am a good listener and follower when I want to be!" Diana stomped her foot, "You were ordering me as a commander! You aren't my commander!"

"And yet you brand yourself an Autobot and insist on fighting alongside us." Optimus pointed out. He watched her clamp her mouth shut and tense further.

"Your need to stay alongside Stalker is noted, but if I give an order I expect it to be listened to accordingly when the situation accounts for it. Understand?"

She nodded. Her throat tightening painfully.

"I do not ask much of you Diana Shae, your companionship is greatly welcomed. You bring life back to my war hardened comrades and to me as well. But you must learn to listen and follow. Is that too much to ask of you?"

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak lest she squeak.

"If you are wondering if I'm upset because of Bumblebee's well being, I am. He is the last youngling, and then there are no more."

"Arcee said it'll be ok." Diana clasped her mouth when her voice went high pitched. She took a breath to calm herself.

"Let us hope she is correct. Wheeljack will make planetfall tomorrow afternoon and we shall see." He held up a finger, "I expect Bumblebee and Stalker to be back at the base when I say."

"Mmk-I mean yes sir."

"Good."

"Optimus! Wait!"

The mech halted his transformation, looking at her.

"Ehh…" _Ask him for permission? Ask him not…_

"Who's this Wheeljack character?" she asked instead.

"A scientist and inventor, whose skills rival that of Turantulas. Also quite the trouble maker if you participate in his 'side' experiments. Which I highly recommend not doing so." There was a hint of amusement behind the leader's voice, Diana felt herself relax.

"He sounds fun."

"Of course it's a laugh when you're the spectator. Not the one who's had their minds switched."

Diana suddenly had a crazy image of Jazz and Optimus having swapped their brains by a mad scientist. The result was the body of Optimus acting all hip while the Jazz all proud and leader like. She snickered.

Optimus smiled, "There has been no trouble dealing with my soldiers have there?"

She picked up on what he was wondering, "No, seems like human 'natural urges' weren't on the top of the list when the body was made. But that's just what Arcee said, we don't know really."

Optimus reverted back to his semi truck form, "Good." It would be a most horrible thing if his charges did anything to discomfort Diana or Makaela even if it was against their conscious will.

O

_Who knew that such mediocre tasks would leave one so fraggin' sore! _Was the first thing that came to Stalker's conscious mind when he awoke the next morning. Zack had been teaching them how to walk and move among other things that he believed they would need when they ventured out into the human's world. Luckily they picked up on them quickly not wanting to repeat some of what Zack taught them unless they were by themselves (like going to the restroom for one). Breathing was still somewhat of a problem so after some threats and digging around Arcee had managed to find mini respirators that they could clip to their belts and let the tubes hang from their necks underneath their shirts if they needed it quickly.

"You owe me big time!"

Stalker heard the male just outside the curtain. He continued to clothe himself in the articles provided by Diana.

"Hey! It's for their own good! I wasn't about to teach them that sort of stuff! Plus I'm a girl idiot!" Diana snipped back. He heard her step near the curtain, "You two done yet?"

Bumblebee was the first to burst out from behind the curtain. He was exceptionally pleased with the attire Diana had chosen: black slacks, shoes, black and yellow jacket, fingerless gloves and white wife beater (A/N: aka white tank top but tank top is a girls term don't ask me why because I don't know either). She'd also showed him how to style his hair. A thing he'd thought was silly at first but when he saw how sleek he could make his hair he'd been all over it (plus it got his bangs out of his eyes which was a relief).

"Nice! Am I good or am I great?" Diana clapped her hands, Arcee nodded in approval, "Come on shy boy! It's your turn!" Diana poked the hanging fabric blocking her view.

_I'm not shy!_

Stalker pulled back the curtain and stepped forth. Diana had provided him with black cargo pants lined in green at the seems and belt, shoes, black long sleeved turtle neck, and a dark green vest which was sewn together with neon green threads.

Stalker felt a reflex of a gasp try to come down his throat but he held it back. He'd never seen his partner the way she was now. Normally she wore things that had little to do with style. She didn't dress sloppily by human terms, on the contrary very sharp and color coordinated but never to attract attention like she was now.

The young lady had straightened her hair to its full luscious length, an intricate Austrian crystal choker necklace adorned her bare neck, her torso was decorated with a draping shirt with ornate brown and blue patterns lined with blue sparkles, she wore light blue stretchy jeans to compliment it and on her feet were high heeled black strapped shoes. Stalker couldn't help but look over her slowly taking in all the beauty he hadn't seen before.

She let out a long whistle, "Yup, I'm good."

_Aren't you going to tell me to stop staring because I don't think I can._

"See why I love sparkly things now Stalker?" she laughed instead. She tilted his lower jaw back in place, making it so he snapped out of his daze.

Unlike Stalker, Bumblebee's eyes were a more almond shape than slanted. They shined with anticipation as he smiled and gave Diana thumbs up.

"Stalker don't look so excited! You're only diving into the unknown!" Zack laughed as the synthoid fiddled with the edge of his vest. The material coarse against his soft tan skin.

"Alright you two let's get this done with before the higher ups have my spark for this." Arcee ushered them all out. Bumblebee taking the mech's arm for support (having only mastered walking) and Stalker with Diana.

"Exactly how is this date of yours supposed to work if they can barely walk?" Sam asked when he and Makaela joined them on the lower floor.

"I'll figure that out when I get there." Was all Diana replied as she help Stalker sit in Sunstreaker's passenger seat. She had to keep one hand on her head to keep her hair from tangling because it was a windy day. Stalker felt strange when his skin reacted accordingly to the cold air. It was uncomfortable and annoying. He didn't understand how Diana who wasn't even wearing a coat could handle the cold temperature.

It was most odd for Bumblebee as Sam helped him settle a helmet on his head, to sit on Arcee in her vehicle mode. Under normal circumstances back at Cybertron, Arcee would decide to be ornery and ride him when they were out on patrol. This reversal in role was just… flat out weird.

"Have fun! Be careful!" Makaela called after the viper as it pulled out of the parking lot.

"See ya on the flip side!" Diana called out of the window.

It wasn't odd for Stalker to be sitting inside a comrade in vehicle mode except for the whole being organic part. Plus he was taller and thicker so he couldn't be as agile.

For what seemed to be the umpteenth time the Autobot filed through his memories. It was so strange to have something as brilliant as battle suddenly cut off at such an illogical spot. The only consistent thing was the emotions, be they anger, hatred, friendship, love, agony. All of his life span he'd had trouble remembering things. It was like every time something happened that involved his brain it couldn't handle more than a set amount of memories at a time. When he'd crash landed his memories of Shadow had been at the fore front of his consciousness, his time with Diana barely an after thought.

Now all he could remember really were choice battles with his dead partner, the rest were clearly of Diana when they'd first met. It was like his brain reset itself to compensate for… what ever it was trying to balance. Stalker frowned until his cheek muscles pinched with pain. The memory that was most annoying right now was his talk with Optimus before he'd been turned into what he was now. Recalling the fragment, Stalker could only see himself pacing Optimus' cab grumbling angrily to himself about something, even slamming his head on the dash board in anger. Why he'd been angry…

Stalker looked at the beautiful young lady seated next to him.

She glanced up, her smile as dazzling as the glittering attire she wore. He'd never notice how pretty her smile was before. He'd always enjoyed her companionship yes, but her looks had been beyond his alien understanding. Diana was pleasant to look at as well as be with.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

_What-? Oh, I remember what that means. _He gestured to the whole of the world beyond Sunstreaker's windows.

"A lot different perception now that you don't have all those different scanners huh?"

_Yes, it feels empty of information to inform me of._

"I figured that you might feel a lack since you don't have any of those special whoop-ti-do sensors and special scanners whirring about behind your optics. I assure you it's not empty."

Stalker tilted his head, curious as to how she'd guessed his thoughts so accurately. Was he really that readable?

"See those clouds over there?"

Stalker followed her finger to the north where ominous clouds were building up.

"The winds are bringing them in and they're heavy with cold rain, I know this because outside the wind is heavy with moisture. The wind is cold because it's coming from the arctic tundra around this time a year… actually it's a bit early."

Stalker marveled over her explanation and grinned. _Fascinating… teach me more._

O

"Aww come on Bee! You can't be sore already can you?" Arcee asked when the synthoid attempted to jump off but instead rolled off onto the hard earth.

_I can see why this type of motorcycle isn't popular with the male's of the species now…_ Bumblebee sat up with as much dignity as he could muster before pulling off his helmet. They were at the lake where Bumblebee had first seen Makaela and often preferred to sit here enjoying the silence.

Scanning the area and finding no humans Arcee transformed, "Curious that humans recreate in things not of their physiological element."

Bumblebee fumbled with his coat zipper a moment before looking up at the seven feet of pink ferocity and hard beauty next to him. He swiped his neck.

"Care to elaborate my fine furry friend?" she laughed when he whacked her leg and pulled his hand back biting back a yelp of pain, "You're a squishy now remember?"

He shook his fist at her and glared.

"That's right! You're shorter than me now so no pulling the height jokes got that?" she gently flicked his nose.

Human Bumblebee huffed and folded his arms. He crossed his legs, closing his eyes.

It was such an amazing sensation to actually feel the flora and softness of the earth beneath him. The bite of the wind as it brought a raging storm. The smells of earth, water, pollution, even air he breathed was… exhilarating.

Even the sounds were different from a human's perspective. Notwithstanding they couldn't hear as much as he could as a Transformer but this way… it seemed more peaceful. More focused. The naked branches of the trees creaked their complaints to the wind, mist rolled off the lake and beaded on his face. Bee placed his palms against his face experimenting with this new sensation. Humans were very intimate creatures. Their sense of touch telling them so many stories. He knew this before hand because when he was sitting in a parking lot waiting for Sam or Makaela, many would often come up and (to his dismay about smudges on his windows) touch him as if that would better enhance their experience in examining his physique. Not that he didn't mind the attention, just hands off the paint job is all. Look but don't touch.

Bumblebee giggled.

"What?"

He looked up at his friend. The femme was glistening with dew from the lake mist. His eyes followed a few particular drops that slid down her angular but smooth face. They dropped onto her chest plate, slid down a few more choice places and finally dropped to the ground.

"Hellooo!" Arcee waved her hand in front of his face, "Is there something on my paintjob that only you can see?"

He realized he was staring. Bee smiled apologetically, rubbing the base of his neck, a hint of pink touching his cheeks.

"Hmph." Arcee knelt next to him, "Are you cold?"

He stopped rubbing his hands together. The scout recalled a method Sam used and proceeded to sit on his hands despite the grass cutting into his soft palms.

"You know Bumblebee, when I first saw ya I thought 'oh great they're partnering me with a youngling.' I actually disliked Commander Prime for a long time for it." She didn't heed his slightly widened eyes, "I was still mourning the loss of my bonded and sparkling at the time. You reminded me of them and that's why I didn't like you. But…" her optics' glow softened, "You showed me to move on from the pain of the past, and I thank you for that."

Unsure of what to do with this confession, Bumblebee continued to watch the femme, gritting his teeth painfully. Arcee had never really acted very feminine during the war, all her energy had been directed toward surviving. The memory was fuzzy but Bee recollected the time before his vocals had been ripped out. He'd ordered all the Autobots of their hopelessly out numbered squadron inside an empty building and to blast the ceiling down, to take as many Decepticon glitches with them as they possibly could. The plan didn't go exactly how he'd intended. They were captured and tortured.

Arcee noticed that he was gripping his fists tightly, muscle tension increasing all over his body and adrenaline injected into his systems.

"I never hated either Prime or you Bumblebee. I was just sad, I wanted to direct my anger at someone. It became the Decepticons but even that wasn't enough."

Bumblebee shook his head vigorously. _No! Not that!_ He wanted to say. Primus damn it! It would be so much easier to communicate if he had his digital link still! But no, that was sitting in the base waiting for Wheeljack's crafty little fingers to save it.

Running all the knowledge he could remember about how human's communicated with no vocal words, Bumblebee figured out a way.

Shifting across the ground so he was facing her he held up his index finger to get her full attention.

"Yes my little fuzz wad?" she asked.

He tried to frown but the smile won and he had to fight to keep a semi straight face. She was never going to let him live this down. He held up a closed fist with his pinky raised, then crossed his arms across his chest again with closed fists, and then pointed at Arcee.

Arcee raised an optic ridge, she ran a scan of the Internet looking for similar hand motions perhaps on a site for those with hearing impaired.

Well she did find the motions but she found it first on a Sesame Street site about the program's story books. She rechecked the implication on a more accredited site but found the same result.

The meaning appalled her.

"You're saying… you love me?"

A firm nod.

Arcee stared.

Bumblebee fidgeted under her intense gaze. He could feel the heat rise from his chest to his cheeks where it made his discomfort even more obvious. The scout had always liked Arcee despite the banter they would give each other. In fact that was one of the ways he expressed his feelings to her knowing no other appropriate way. None of his assignments had been to socialize. In fact when he'd first met the femme for the first time he did anything he could to avoid Arcee because he didn't know how to act around her. He'd heard horror stories from Ironhide about how the wrong thing said around his femme could trip them off into a rage. It took a long time of consoling from Jazz before Bumblebee realized he'd been teased.

Had he just said the wrong thing? His tact wasn't exactly the best. Maybe he should've just kept his metaphorical mouth shut. Why hadn't he had any assignments on how to be sociable with femmes?! _Stop looking at me! It's embarrassing! Damn body why do you have to be so easy in revealing your emotions!_ He tried to hide his burning face.

Arcee looked away to his relief. She stood and walked to the edge of the dark water, casting her thoughts silently to the heavy winds.

Body still stinging from yesterday and the ride, the young man tried and failed a few times before managing to get to his feet. He tripped and slammed his shoulder against a nearby sapling. Something disconnected from the trunk, falling onto his head and bouncing to the ground.

He focused on the little papery ball that had hit him. It was oddly shaped, like a tear drop with its rounded end cut off with octagonal holes in it.

Strange… was it twitching? Why did he have a sinking feeling that he should know what this thing was? Something crawled out of the papery nest, staggering as if it had just woken up.

"Bumblebee, I-."

Arcee whipped around cannons at the ready when he heard him scream in surprise and pain. She was confused for a moment when no Decepticons were there to kill, just him stumbling backwards, his airways contorting tightly and body chemicals going seriously out of whack.

Suddenly she noticed the wasps nest on the ground.

_Ah slag._

O

_Oh the potential for a stampede!_ Stalker thought in horror at the sight of the mass of brightly clothed woman adorned with sweet perfumes and men vying for territory in a civilized manner. The closeness of so many bodies radiating heat, pheromones and something else the synthoid couldn't identify. The dim lighting gave everything an ethereal mystical appearance.

"Sexual tension."

Stalker jumped horribly when Diana took his arm in hers. She'd just come back from flashing her false ID of her being eighteen years old in the bouncer's face.

_What?_

She led him around the crowd of dancers to a booth in the corner, "The sexual tension is high in the air of dance parties. Usually is, but that doesn't mean that all of them want to mate. Dancing… is like a drug."

Stalker tilted his head narrowing his multi colored eyes.

"No not that kind of… well ok exactly like that. Dancing is a way to speak with your body the things that can't be formed into words, like an artist and their paintings. Catching my drift?" Diana asked as they sat across from each other.

Stalker looked back at the dance floor below, the mixed motions of people and lights making his head spin just enough that he had to look away before he got a headache. The music was so loud its beat shook his body.

"Relax." Diana scooted next to him, taking his hand, "I know it's hard to understand, but once you're out there words melt away and all there is, is you and the music."

Stalker still didn't understand. Yes there was a peculiar feeling welling up in his gut from the excitement leaking into him from the air. Something he hadn't felt before but still… the meaning, the purpose of dance eluded him. How did the humans know what to do when there was no algorithm to follow? Was it perhaps encoded into their genes?

"Would you relax before I turn this ventilator thing on high?" Diana placed a hand firmly on his chest, "Take a deep breath. Relax, feel the beat, and let go. When you do that, come and join me." Diana slipped out of his reach spinning on her heel, hair spiraling around her neck as she merged with the crowd. Stalker was left with his hand reaching for her, unsure of what she was trying to teach him. Or was she just teasing him like she usually did?

Stalker sank deeply into the seat folding his arms. He frowned at the sea of shadows swaying enticingly before him.

_She said escort her to a dance party… not participate. So there._ Stalker nodded his head with finality. He'd felt strange ever since they'd stepped inside this place. It was aggravating that he couldn't identify what exactly what was the problem.

Stalker settled for watching the dancers move to the beat of the overly loud music. It was like they were hypnotized. Being that there was so many of them so close to each other… they thought as individuals but moved as one. Well perhaps not thinking, feeling as individuals.

Similar the oneness that he and his species felt when they spoke to the Allspark or bonded with one another. Did moving to the beat of music in such a large group remind humans of before they were birthed? Diana said it was one way to speak the meanings that couldn't be captured by words.

Stalker suddenly remembered witnessing a conversation between Danny and his sister.

"_Why does it feel good to dance, Ate?" Danny giggled while the whole family did the Cha cha cha train all around the house._

"_Because the tempo reminds you of a pulsing heart! Of being alive!"_

"_What's a tempo?"_

"_The rhythm of life!" Danny was whisked high into the air by their father laughing hysterically._

So, dancing was… in a sense, like spark bonding. Not permanent, but the memory of it still remains fresh in their minds and they craved more of it. The bliss granted by the pulse of their lives.

Stalker smiled at his epiphany.

He still wasn't going to dance. He was not human, he didn't know the unseen wavelengths that they communicated with.

AKA: obviously you didn't know how to dance and didn't want to embarrass himself.

While Stalker continued to observe the bouncing humans, a luster of blue glitter caught his eye amidst the writhing bodies. Diana glanced over her shoulder at him, the smile glowing in her eyes coy and seductive. She motioned with a finger for him to come, the time for contemplation was over.

Before Stalker was conscious of his actions he was half way to the young lady, pushing past pairs who didn't even give him a glance. He stopped, just a few feet from where Diana stood waiting for him.

He hesitated, feeling adrenaline rush through his systems and unsure if he was nervous or excited.

Diana closed the gab for him and leaned close to his ear, "Feel how _we_ live." Her breath tickled, sending a shiver down his spine. He relished the sensation as Diana ran her hands up his arms and proceeded to rock him gently along with the new song that was being played. On the dance floor amidst everyone the music felt completely different than what he'd expected. It seemed to shake his core. This new reaction made him feel numb, and not numb in the sense of a stasis lock, but made him feel as if nothing but him, the pulse and Diana were the only ones in the entire verse. Stalker found the bubble of energy created between them made their dance all the more exhilarating.

Tentatively the synthoid reached up, running his fingers through her hair. In his real body he would've denoted that the material of protein was soft. But with this body it was silky, smooth, pleasant. For a moment, Stalker wished he could remain this way for all eternity. Here, next to someone special to him.

_Special how? _Shadow asked.

_Shut up you! Go away!_

_I'm but a memory… as you will someday be._ The black mech's optics danced with laughter as he faded to the pits of Stalker's memories.

Diana sensed the break of the connection and looked up at him questioningly.

Stalker threw his head back clenching his eyes shut, cursing himself for recalling his friend at such a blissful time. It was so annoying the timing that his malfunctioning brain… no. He would not stray on the matter. He looked back at Diana who's face was filled with concern now.

The synthoid smiled softly before closing his eyes and leaned down toward Diana pressing his forehead against hers. At first Diana considered pulling back but that thought only lasted a second. What she might've considered an invasion of personal space under normal circumstances she completely understood in this time of bliss. In his real body his head had been where his spark had been.

This was Stalker's kiss.

O

They'd danced well beyond their set time limit and it took Sunstreaker hacking into the buildings' power grid and shutting it down to get them to remember that their time was up.

They rode home together in the Viper's back seat so that they could lean against each other. Sunstreaker was afraid at first but after a quick bio scan it showed that there was little to no sexual activity in their bodies. But they were over balanced in some of their bodily chemicals but nothing that he could identify that would be harmful.

The silence was defining.

But at the same time welcoming, simmering.

Now that they were heading back Stalker couldn't help but reflect on the question of why Diana was being so loving to him even after he'd hurt her. Even though he was a synthoid, he could still feel Frenzy skittering around his mind.

"You're wondering aren't you?" Diana kept her eyes closed from where she was leaning on him, "About Frenzy?"

His brow shot up in surprise. _How-?_

She slipped her hand into his, "Don't worry, I took care of my anger. Besides, the trauma of being changed into an alien entity is punishment enough for you mister. I expect chocolate chip waffles in the morning."

They both grinned.

"At least you two aren't corny like the movies." Sunny snickered.

"Oh heaven forbid I ever get that sappy!" Diana laughed.

Back at the base Prowl was surprised to find that Frenzy had been severely beaten and had gone into partial stasis lock. Although he wasn't complaining about the treatment he was curious as to who had done it. The security cameras appeared to have malfunctioned at the time of beating. He missed the dented metal pole left on the ground near the cage.

When they arrived back at the hospital and snuck back into the room they found Bee and Arcee there. Except Bee looked like he'd just had the break out of his life.

"Holy shiznat! What happened to you two?!" Diana gawked despite herself.

Arcee was giggling, "You wouldn't have thought the irony!" she tried to keep a serious façade and was failing miserably. Bumblebee pouted, looking very cute and boyish with his quivering lip.

"What what?! Tell me tell me!" Diana shook the femme by the wrist.

Arcee finally managed to compose herself to keep her words understandable, "Bumblebee's allergic to bee stings!"

Diana stared, "No way!"

"Way!" Arcee had to sit down in order to not fall on her aft.

Stalker patted the scout's shoulder in sympathy. He couldn't remember what a bee was but the sores that peppered the other's body looked painful.

_As soon as I'm back to my normal self I'm going to destroy that nest in Sam's backyard!_ Bumblebee hissed to himself. It was a pitiful revenge plot but making up different ways to torture the bees was satisfying his embarrassment of the pun.

He recalled the event.

His allergic reaction had sent Arcee into a panic but it seemed that she'd been prepared for _any_ scenario. After kicking the nest into the lake she'd pulled from a subspace pocket the antidote for this reaction and stabbed him in the leg in order to inject it.

He wasn't sure what had been worse, the stabbing or the choking of air.

_Arcee held the twitching synthoid as the antidote took affect. In the midst of his pain he heard her chuckle, "I love you too… fuzz brain."_

He suppressed a laugh.

O

Wheeljack had made planetfall while the girls were out on their dates and was greeted with sighs of relief and then ushered to his first assignment on Earth. At first the scientist was baffled by the complexity of the traps but as soon as he cracked the first wall he gave Optimus a confident to the point report that he could have their fellow Autobots back in their real bodies within four days as long as they kept him up with high grade. Besides that he would need the victim's active brains nearby to help. So the synthoids were moved to the base and by midnight were sick of Wheeljack's experimenting.

Optimus had disappeared to the control room so that he could contact the Secretary about this group inquiring about Diana. Four days was too late.

Both finally were able to escape Wheeljack's mechanical prodding when Makaela and Sam said it was time for them to eat.

Bumblebee clung to Makaela's arm giving her the grin she'd ever seen as they headed to the cafeteria.

"You're welcome." She laughed, "It's late but that's ok, a late night snack is always in order."

"Where'd Stalker go?" Sam asked, the synthoid had just been walking beside him.

"Doing what he does best."

"What's that?" Sam questioned.

"Sneaking off to his lady friend of course." Makaela sighed dramatically.

Zan landed on Makaela's head and stared into her eyes upside down, "Boo bwoop tii?" he inquired.

"The fridge? Oook." Makaela opened it and the drone happily hopped into the fruit drawer.

Diana lay underneath her moon roof with her blanket wrapped tightly around her. Sleep had evaded her grasp so she'd decided to just sit and watch the stars. Clouds were creeping across her line of vision, soon there would be nothing but a black mass of water that would pour torrents on the earth. She rubbed her temples trying to get rid of the headache that accompanied her after the dancing.

She sniffed in annoyance then proceeded to grab a fistful of hair on each side of her head and pulled with all her strength. The roots smarted with pain after a minute but she ignored that and once she let go the pressure was relieved.

"Much better…" she sighed.

Diana had been getting a lot of headaches lately ever since she'd gotten zapped by Stalker and Frenzy. Weird things happening like… At least that's what _she_ thought it was weird. Just… she felt off in general… headaches aside.

_Oh well just go with the flow… things can't get any weirder can it?_

A soft knock on her door summoned her off her mattress.

Stalker was waiting on the other side.

_Why didn't I knock on wood? Damn you karma!_

"Stalker, you can't sleep with me tonight." _Keep matureness keep matureness! Don't giggle!_

Stalker stomped his foot like her little brother did.

_Frak! Why is he picking up bad habits from my _little brother_ of all people!?_

"I said no! Go sleep in one of the extra rooms!"

Stalker placed his fists on his hips eyeing her with annoyance.

"Don't give me that look."

Stalker thought a moment. _What was it that humans do when they needed to beg? Oh yes! _He had to work a moment to make his eyes big and his lower lip big and quivering.

Diana's brow arched up, "You… are not doing what I think you're doing…"

_Yes, I am._

She held up her hands, "You know I hate the puppy face."

_Exactly why I'm doing it._

"Grr! If I let you in will you stop! It's getting annoying!"

He smiled and brushed passed her. _Yay! If I'd known it would get her to comply so easily I would have used it a long time ago… I'm going to have to figure out how to manage a big cute face in my real body._

"Shoe's off mister!" Diana kicked him in the butt knocking him off balance. Stalker fell face first onto the bed. He snorted before sliding off his shoes, relieved actually to remove them. He then lay on his back on his usual side of the bed while Diana spread her blankets over them.

They lay in silence, watching the star's beauty blotted out by the jealous clouds.

"Which would you be, if you had to choose: the sky or the clouds?"

Stalker looked at her, his brow wrinkling.

She looked back, "Come on, Mom asked me that once. You should remember… at least I hope you do." She watched him chew on his thoughts, the meanings behind the images, words, sounds. She swore she could hear him thinking almost as loud as if he were talking. His effort at understanding being human with no Internet access was great to watch.

He coughed, sucked in air then, "Sky." The single word almost caused him to choke. He'd forgotten to swallow before speaking.

"The sky: constant, always there for you." Diana recited, "The clouds: ever changing, not always there for you but very generous." She smiled. There really was no right or wrong answer to the question. She fumbled through the blankets until she found Stalker's warm hand and grasped it.

_Be there for me… won't you?_

O

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe peeked into the command center to find it was empty of Optimus who'd been arguing with the Defense Secretary over something for the past four hours.

They nodded to each other.

"Can't believe that witch guessed which one of us was the original frame." Sunstreaker grumbled. The yellow twin glared at the thickened neck of Sideswipe where Sparkle's drone was deeply latched on to.

"You and me both brother." They proceeded to attach to the main computer and access the deep space commands for the Autobot ship known as the Ark.

Twins in general never revealed which one of them was the original and bore no grudge against the one that was. It was a little known fact that if someone had the ability to manipulate the original of a twin spark you had complete influence over both of them. In this case you could have too operatives to do your dirty work.

Slots on the console opened and holographic keys appeared in mid air before Sideswipe. He placed a visor over his optics and suddenly he was at the controls of the silent giant.

_Passwords Accepted._

_User: Hidden_

_Teletraan I Online._

_Awaiting Command…_

"I got it!" Sideswipe exclaimed. He proceeded run his fingers across the keys, integrating the protocols needed to run the Vanguard-class Deep Space Interceptor.

"Great, hurry up and do what Sparkle told us, we're so going to be scrap if any of the others find out about this!" Sunstreaker kept his optics trained on the security panels before him across from where he brother sat manipulating the holograms to his biddings.

"I'm going as fast as I can Sunny, it's like I'm hacking into a box containing high grade you know."

Sunstreaker glanced back down at the security panels and stiffened in fear, "Slag!" he yelped. Prowl was coming back to the control room!

"What?" Sideswipe asked, halting in the middle of his algorithm.

Suddenly Prowl was intercepted by Sparkle. He seemed a little irritated by the blockade in front of him.

"_Complete your task, I need that ship at the coordinates as quickly as possible."_ Sparkle directed them.

"Hurry up Sideswipe!"

"Shut up and let me work then!" Sideswipe quickened his pace. Adding the security overrides to the package.

_Command Accepted._

Sideswipe waited long enough to see the Ark begin its departure from its hiding place near Jupiter before throwing off the visor and shutting down the console. Both twins leaped over the computers and dashed away through a different door.

"_Why can't you just do all this yourself?" _ Sunstreaker asked. He didn't want to complete the sentence with the venomous words floating on the edge of his processors.

"_I'm wasting enough energy talking to this boring tactician."_

"_Oh yeah sure, make us take the blame you maleficent brain sucking - !"_ Sideswipe screeched in surprise when red lightning sparked across his frame.

"Bro-agh!!" the energy traveled through their telepathic link, causing both great pain. Both dropped to their knees with a resounding _crash!_

"_Stop it."_

"_We did!" _Sunstreaker snarled.

"_I wasn't talking to you two."_

Sparky relayed a response and the jolt receded to nothingness.

Sparkle stepped aside before Prowl shoved her aside, _"Contrary to your beliefs it hurts me very much to manipulate you two. But I need to go into stasis lock for awhile and I need to be able to do what my leader tells me."_ The red mechanoid twitched her flower like back shafts, the symbols on it glowing for a moment. She made her way to an unused part of the base that she'd modified to her own use. No one could come in and disturb her unless Sideswipe and Sunstreaker deemed it absolutely needed her attention. The twins were a crafty pair, having created their own coded language to ensure her security.

"_You have my orders, I pray to Primus that you won't get caught on my behalf."_

There was a mumbled reply of acknowledgement.

The doors bolted themselves behind her and she continued to the stasis platform. She sat on its edge, taking the sudden silence to ponder the information she was receiving from her dispatched drones. She sighed heavily, giving them the last of their instructions before laying with flat with her back shafts spread wide all around her created a circle of ancient Cybertronian symbols. Crossing her arms over her chest plate she began shutting down her body in order for stasis lock to ensue.

The feeling of numbness was not a welcome one. For eons she'd been in stasis lock, only occasionally waking to be able to watch the happenings around her silo. In those few moments of mental relief she'd scorned those outsiders and their freedom. Jealousy festering in her spark as well as the love that was not her own.

Just like the ill will she felt toward Firestar.

She knew that Ratchet had been bonded to someone but she didn't have enough power build up at the time to know exactly who it had been. Their energy signatures were all over each other. Sparkle felt an ache in her circuits at the knowledge.

The Allspark's destiny for her had never been to live, only to give.

Darkness filled her consciousness and then nothingness.

Certain points all through out her body reacted instantly to the lack of activity, beginning generation of power at an alarming rate.

Sideswipe touched the drone latched onto his neck and looked at his brother, "She sounds sincere."

"Sincere my aft! Hmph! I don't see why or how you would come to pity that witch."

"I mean she sounds sincerely sad."

"What about?"

Sideswipe shrugged his big shoulders, "Only Primus would know that."

O

Jazz lay on his recharge birth bouncing his foot to the beat of the music he was playing via inner speakers. He'd grown exhausted from trying to help in the OR and really there wasn't much else he could do at this point. His Energon levels were extremely low but he didn't want to get up and go get more for fear of another haunting. Sparkle seemed to have disappeared again and no one, not even Diana knew where the peculiar mech had gone. Sighing, he turned over and proceeded to go into stasis.

Memory recall was sometimes a very unpleasant experience.

"_You wanna piece a me?! You wanna piece?!"_ _the lieutenant snarled as he wrenched his arm free to fire at Megatron. His rounds barely made a scratch on the gargantuan Decepticon's hip. Jazz was suddenly whipped out from underneath Megatron's foot._

"_No! I want-!" Jazz screamed feeling his joints break, circuits snap, pain processors going offline from the overload, "-two!"_

_Hanging upside down, systems failing, Jazz watched his other half flung to the ground then himself. Energon trickled over his face. No sound, no signals were received. His imager was quickly failing as he lay there bleeding profusely, spark's light sputtering into nothingness from where it protruded of his broken body._

_There was a blur of yellow as… what was his name? Oh yes, Ratchet, good 'ol Ratchet scrambled over the debri toward him, calling his name in terror._

Jazz tried to break his stasis cycle, the pain causing his body to overheat at the memories being replayed. Fear that if he blacked out on that street again that he would go offline for sure.

_Instead as the lights dimmed and complete silence filled his being, the memory shifted. He was in a Decepticon base. At this point in time he was but a humble saboteur working at a distance from Optimus. It would be another cycle or two after this mission that he would catch the eye of the commander._

_What had been his mission here? Oh yes, to seek and destroy. Nothing out of the ordinary. Well he was stuck at this point, he had to find the place he needed to sabotage…_

O

Zan practically swam through the fruit drawer trying to find the correct orange with attitude amidst all the other oranges, who were too soft to play cards with.

Sam yelled in surprise when a high pitched squeal emitted from the drone at the same time he leaped out of the drawer and clung to the nearest person which happened to be the male human.

"W-what?!"

"bo oo p!" Zan pointed at a package of pre-sliced ham that had been misplaced.

"Oh now the lemon's hired the ham to make sure Zan gets offlined." Sam explained to his girlfriend who was looking up questioningly. Sam put the package in its proper place. From all the stories he heard… someone, probably Diana was doing it on purpose but the drone didn't think so.

Zan jumped back into the drawer poking and prodding the oranges. He made a 'hmphed' sound. None of the players tonight were worthy of his attention, and he didn't feel like arguing with the lemon and its cousins the tomatoes. Who were insisting that they were vegetables. The drone hopped out and landed.

'eh?' He skidded to a stop, eyes wide with confusion. Why was his tail so heavy?

He swished it.

Still heavy.

Something rolled past him.

The drone leaped into the air in surprise when he discovered that the grapes were attacking him!

The humanoids in the room were perplexed to see the drone run out of the cafeteria screaming as if Megatron was after him… Maybe Megatron was the grape vine tangled on his tail.

"eeeeeeeeeee!" the maintenance drone squealed as he ran down the gargantuan halls. The ham had been a distraction! Really his arch nemesis the lemon had hired the grapes to do its dirty deeds!

Zan skidded to a halt and turned on the grapes hanging from his tail. Several of its comrades were rolling around the floor trying to surround him! He growled ferociously in warning (really his growl sounded like a mini motor). The drone ran circles silly trying to catch the grapes attacking his tail. His circuits whirled and he lost his center of gravity, toppling over, grapes flying to escape the crash. Zan lay there a moment before the ceiling was the floor again.

They were good, he gave them that. But he had been built by the great children of the Allspark! No measly grape shall ever take him offline!

He flipped onto his feett growling at the grape vine and its companions that now surrounded him.

Zan suddenly noticed that the floor had grown a shade darker and duck rolled out of the way just in time when a foot came down and squashed the pile of grapes.

"oooo!" he cooed as the Transformer continued by slowly taking no heed of the little drone, "save!" he looked up with glimmering eyes of admiration as the child of the gods sauntered on past. Zan didn't recognize any of them by sight, only by the signals they gave.

This one… was a friend… right? Not all of the children were friendly. This child… wait…

Suddenly Zan started trembling, he cowered behind a pipe against the wall.

"You're looking better already Bumblebee!" Makaela poked one of the quickly disappearing soars. The synthoid flinched away, shaking his fist at the girl.

"Hey Bee could you grab that cup over there since you're on that side of the table?" Sam asked, "I totally spaced I'd gotten a drink while over there."

Bee rolled his eyes but complied. His wards laughed.

_Of course they'd make me their glitch… but then again, I don't mind._ Bee picked up the cup and turned.

The cafeteria had been set up so that the double width opening that served as an entrance faced the three main halls that lead through out the base. Down the center of these three halls Bumblebee saw the unmistakable glow of a plasma canon charging up.

The cup slipped between his fingers and shattered on the floor.

"Oh, Bee! What'd you do that for? Are you _that_ tired?" Sam groaned.

Bumblebee tried to speak, to warn them, but nothing came out. Why couldn't he move?! Was this what surprise was? Not a good time! _No no no!! Sam! Makaela! Move!! Please!!_

As the flare of energy was released, Bumblebee sprinted forward and leaped across the table, slamming into the other two just as the shot singed all along his back and caused the back wall of the cafeteria to explode, sending silver ware, dish fragments and other manner of shrapnel careening through the air with killing force.

The next thing Bumblebee knew he was being tended to by a human medic who was on standby at the base.

Blearily he looked around.

_Where are Sam and Makaela?_

"Easy son," the older human pushed him gently back down, "You have a slight concussion. Your friends are alright."

Bumblebee relaxed but only just. Through his dulled hearing he could hear Diana, arguing with someone in the back round. Optimus was there as well, when the big mech spoke it was with controlled fury.

"Wheeljack, get them out of those bodies as soon as possible." He growled in a low, menacing tone.

"Yes sir!" the scientist squeaked before scuttling out, he'd never seen his commander so POed before. He'd definitely be working both night and day shifts.

"Anything?" Prime asked as Ironhide returned from searching the base for the intruder.

"Not a sign of any break in. All the side locks haven't been breeched, Frenzy's in partial stasis lock so I doubt he could call Barricade in." the specialist shrugged, "Honestly Prime! I'm stumped!"

"This is not good, it means someone on the base is…"

"Nobody would… would they?"

"It's happened before, but this base still has rooms that we aren't using. Check those just in case."

"Yes sir." The mech swiftly made his retreat.

O

_We don't sleep walk we can't sleep walk but there I was walking down the hall thinkin' I was on that mission… no no it couldn't be. It's all… it's all just a dream. But we're not supposed to have those either… just memory recall. But that's not supposed to induce sleep walking… or shooting. But the Decepticon was right there about to attack me! I needed to shoot it!_

_But it hadn't been there…_

Jazz shook his head hard trying to clear his baffled processors. All he could remember was waking up to the sound of an explosion and the next thing he knew he was running the opposite direction after alerting the entire base of the incident.

He couldn't have just fired on them… he just couldn't have!

Jazz clenched his digits into fists and slammed them onto his desk, causing it to crack. He stared at what he'd just done. Curious, he checked his Energon levels and found that in his panicked thoughts he'd failed to notice that they were at optimum level. They weren't supposed to be! He'd gone into stasis with them at low!

"I can't just go in there and tell them it was me… Prime would have me turned to scrap! I need Sparkle to fix me! Where is she?!" Jazz leaped up and almost ran into Ironhide who was just about to bang on his door.

"Oh… S'up?"

"I need you to help me search for the intruder! Stop lazing about and search!" Ironhide shoved the lieutenant ahead of him.

"Ok alright I'm going!"

_Slag it! Why am I not coming forth? This… this isn't right! I need to tell him! _ Jazz tried to speak but found to his surprise that his vocals had gone numb and wouldn't respond.

"What's wrong?" Ironhide asked, noticing the pained look on his comrade's face.

"Nothin'." _Wait how could I've just said that?_ Again he tried to confess his sins but yet again his vocals went numb.

"Are you done? Because we've got a job to do."

Suddenly his vocals loosened, "Right." _What the frag is wrong with me?! _

**OOO**

… **whoa… I'm tired… 32 pages.**

**Thanks in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you Sleic for the add!**

**I couldn't figure out how to make this chapter very smooth… so yeah it's choppier than usual. It'll be better next chapter.**

**Chapter 21:**

Stalker found himself wandering the halls alone despite Diana's insistence that she go with him. He felt restless, perhaps it was just because Wheeljack had said it would be very soon that he'd be able to successfully put their entities back in their appropriate bodies. As much as he was looking forward to returning, Stalker had grown very fond of his organic in the past couple of days. Besides the fact of food being so amazing in all its different tastes and textures, it was the connection he felt toward Diana that had changed. In a good way that is, and he just hoped that it would remain when he was himself again.

One thing how ever that he would not miss would be the dreams.

Sleeping as an organic, it seemed that when one shut down the conscious part of their brains, the deep memories of yesterday would come back. It wasn't like memory recall where it was exact and simply a reminder of their lives. The dreams were twisted from reality, filled with things that just didn't make logical sense.

Every time Stalker would wake, roll over and return to sleep a different dream would arise but they all had one consistency and that was Shadow.

Shadow would be protecting him, protecting him from something good. Running away with him and although Stalker wondered what the reason they were running was for he didn't care because he would be happy with Shadow. Often Stalker would be holding a spark in his hands, he and Shadow would be smiling over it. Then Stalker would realize it was his. The synthoid twitched as a shudder of horror at the twisted memory crawled over his spine.

Shadow had been a saboteur in the Autobot ranks, perhaps not as well known as Lieutenant Jazz but just as skilled. The small agile mech had stood at 16 feet tall and was very slippery when it came to hand to hand combat. For as long as Stalker could remember in his fragmented memories Shadow had been there for him, even though Stalker couldn't even remember his parental units but that didn't matter anymore to him.

Stalker stopped musing over what the war had taken from him and concentrated on the now. For now he was standing in front of the unit Frenzy was being kept.

The Decepticon twitched, then lifted his head blearily looking up at the entity before him. It took the infiltrator a few moments before he recognized it was Stalker kneeling next to his prison.

"_I'd hoped you would spring one of them._" Frenzy spoke through their muted telepathic link created from their partial bond. It was his way of rubbing the other's discomfort in his face.

"_As soon as the bond has faded I won't hesitate to kill you."_ Stalker smirked.

"_Until then we're stuck in the same ship."_ Frenzy clicked, sitting back on his aft and examining his sharp digits casually, _"You can't kill me, which will make it all the more easy to slice that deranged little squishy of yours to pieces."_

Standing up swiftly Stalker suddenly pulled a hand gun he'd foundout, cocked it and pointed it at Frenzy's face through the bars.

"_Touch her and even Primus won't take pity on you."_

"_You won't shoot."_Frenzy wasn't all that worried, it was only a hand gun and even though they stung they couldn't penetrate his armor.

"_And how do you know that?"_

"_Because you're other hand is shaking."_ Frenzy pointed out, _"Your fear pheromones betray you as well. You don't _want_ to harm – achhg!!"_ the shot rang against the concrete hallways echoing through out the base.

Frenzy grabbed at the optic the synthoid had just removed, "_You shot me!"_ he wailed.

The kinetic energy that had rocked Stalker's bones made him drop the tool for warfare and massage his shoulder, _"You said I don't want to kill you and you're right. But that doesn't mean I can't harm you."_ He chuckled, _"I learned a little something from Diana while we fought Barricade, how she manages to harm you with the inappropriate equipment."_ He knelt next to the cage again, _"She told me we Transformers are like their mythological dragons: Powerful, majestic, amazing, but not without a flaw in their perfectly impenetrable armor."_ Stalker smiled, pointing to his own eye, _"Just the little break an organic can take advantage of if they aren't overwhelmed with panic. And Diana is not one to be damaged so easily."_

"_It's not even a critical point!"_ Frenzy snarled.

"_But critical enough that it gives her time for her next move."_ Stalker stood and started to exit the room.

"_Shadow's a petty thief."_ Frenzy watched the synthoid stop in his tracks, _"I don't know if you're aware of it, but there seems to be a memory shortage in your life. I could tell you why."_

Stalker laughed coldly, _"In exchange for what? Your freedom? You can forget it."_

"_Bonding with your spark has told me what you could never tell me by yourself, you should know that by seeing into me."_ Frenzy cackled, _"You have a very interesting origin, Stalker. And that Shadow is who you have to thank for your life."_

"_I thanked him for a lot of things including my life."_

"_I don't mean him saving your aft in tight situations."_

Stalker looked over his shoulder at the Decepticon.

"_That thief of sparks brought something to life that never should've existed."_

Stalker snatched up the gun this time shoving it against Frenzy's face, _"Call him that again and I'll shoot your other eye."_

"_Easy, my bonded."_ He lifted a digit and slowly pushed the barrel off sight, _"I am only trying to help you."_

"_You're trying to twist me because you know full and well I can't control this body as efficiently."_ Stalker felt his lips pull back in a human snarl. He lowered the weapon and stormed out of the brig.

That bucket of bolts dared insult his best friend! His body trembled as pheromones released into his systems, adrenaline causing his body to heat up, anger.

Frenzy held his optic in place until his regeneration reattached his nerves. A certain _ching_ sound caught his attention and he tested the tightness of the inhibitor around his neck. The shot had scraped one side almost in two, damaging its circuitries allowing him access to his equipment.

_Thank you, love._ Frenzy cackled to himself as he accessed an encrypted communication line.

O

"The Ark's on the move again…" Sideswipe informed his brother when he'd come back from the control center, "It must've been boarded by who ever Sparkle called."

"With warp drive they'll reach here in no time!" Sunny sipped a cup of grade and leaned back against the counter. The mess hall was relatively empty except for a few cleaning drones scurrying about the floor. Sometimes they would be backing up and bump into each other which would ensue an argument of epic drone proportions on who was better at cleaning than the other.

"Sunny, why do you think she's doing this so discreetly? I mean… the first time we met she was such a nice gal, you might've even considered her cute."

"Something got loose in her cerebral function." Sunny mumbled.

"Did you ever read the characters on her?"

The yellow twin slammed his cup down glared, "No I was too busy staring at the spear point stuck in my face! Sides, why are you acting so nice about this? Is that drone of hers influencing your opinion on her?"

Sideswipe shrugged, not phased by his brother's outburst, "I read a bit of them _before_ all of this happened, Sunny."

"Hmph, so what did you read?"

Sideswipe switched to their native tongue before continuing, "_It's an ancient dialect but I managed to get (after too much research)_ _'From ascension art thou; But bring them life. Your strength is your chains and be thou greatfilled to not live in power.' _"

"Sounds like a biblical passage that doesn't make sense." Sunstreaker traced his digit along the rim of his cube, "Is that all?"

"That was only the first part on one of her arm blades. After all the trouble with the first I didn't want to bother."

"Hmm."

"What's this? The duo of doom is relaxing quietly in the mess hall?" kidded a thick Australian accent.

The twins looked up to see Jetfire entering the hall, from what they could see his alt form was appropriately some sort of jet. It might be a warthog war type.

"Jetfire! When did you get in?" Sideswipe exclaimed.

"I was here before you two, just doing some work with the humans by order of Optimus." The huge mech stopped in front of them. He gave Sideswipe a strange look although to them it was difficult to notice since he had his visor down, "Did you get an upgrade or something Sideswipe? You're neck seems… thicker than when I last saw."

"Umm… yeah I did. Makes it so if something sleazy tries to cut me up they'll have more trouble than its worth." He could feel the thrum of disdain from the drone.

"Hmm." Jetfire mused, "Well anyways, I came to ask if you've by chance seen the fragment?"

"Huh?" the both said.

Jetfire's voice grew a bit solemn, "Optimus is throwing a fit because he thinks his subspace pocket malfunctioned and he dropped the fragment of the Allspark somewhere. If you see it, be sure to return it."

"Yes sir!"

O

"You ready?" Wheeljack asked the synthoids who were now connected to a devious looking contraption he'd built in the last few days.

Bumblebee gave a thumbs up.

Stalker just nodded, nervous sweat beading his brow. His eyes fell on Diana who was standing in the door way next to Zack who had Zan sitting on his head, tail wrapped around his neck gently.

"Ok." He pressed a few keys and their pods closed. The scientist looked at the humans, "Best you leave now, they're safe in there from the radiation but you aren't."

"Alright, see you on the flip side you guys!" Diana waved as Wheeljack shut the doors.

O

It had been two hours since the beginning of the process and Diana was getting restless. Wheeljack had said it would take one hour to transfer their consciousness back. Perhaps he'd run into some blockades and hopefully was overcoming them.

The base was relatively quiet except for a few maintenance drones, Diana considered looking for Zan to play with but the little mechanical monkey was probably on duty at this hour. Optimus was overseeing something with Prowl, Jazz was nowhere to be found, Firestar she didn't really know and Zack was out with Hotshot probably burning rubber on patrols. Sam and Makaela were busy doing something and Diana didn't care to look for them. They were a nice pair but she just didn't want their company.

Something suddenly brushed past Diana toward the main hall. Diana was about to yell an obscene thing when she noticed it was a slinking form was a familiar ebony.

"Stalker?"

He looked back, motioning with his head for her to follow before disappearing into the passageway.

"Hey get back here!" Diana called, following as fast as she could. He was very coy in leading her, one time even allowing her to get lost only to save her sanity by poking his head out to make sure she was still there.

Diana lost him one more time before taking a wild guess and exited through the human front door. Outside was thick with mist, one couldn't even see the top of the dam from the moister coming off the river. She zipped up her coat and pulled her sleeves over her fingers, "Stalker?" she called, crossing over to the main road that lead to the facility along the cliff side. She saw movement on the edge of her vision and pursued, ignoring the roar of water below.

"Stalker! Can we stop now!" Diana was about to just stop and sit where she was in defiance when she saw that he'd finally stopped. He was sitting atop a jut opposite the thick concrete blockade that made sure cars didn't fall off into the river with heavy equipment. Diana slowed her pace and settled for leaning against the wall to catch her breath.

She looked up, "Is… something wrong?"

"No." he stated simply.

"Thennn… why are we out here?"

The pods hissed then sealed shut, preserving the synthoids for further in detail study. Wheeljack gave a cry of joy as the plantlike plants reversed their role and released the mechs who promptly crashed to the floor.

"Ooohh." Stalker moaned. His frame rattled a moment as his mind adjusted quickly back in its familiar territory.

"What are your names and functions?" Wheeljack asked?

The yellow one sat up rubbing his head, "Designation Bumblebee, function is to collect field data. And I'd like to give Turantualas a piece of his own medicine!!"

"Designation Stalker, function is to seek covertly and destroy, promptly leaving without discovery." The attachment shook himself relishing the feel of control in a new perspective, "Where's Diana?" he asked.

"Is… there something on your mind?" Diana asked.

"Yes, actually."

A moment of silence.

_Oh damn you silence!_ Diana frowned but didn't say anything. She knew that some things were best left in that. She turned to look at the grey river below, half her view blocked by the ugly concrete barrier.

"His memories cause me great anguish."

Diana looked back at Stalker in confusion, "Eh?"

"Him, Stalker."

"What? Since when did you start talking in third person?"

"Having bonded with such a kind spark with a deep affection for a human is disgusting."

Warning bells rang in Diana's head but before she could do anything the ebony bot bounded off the rock, wrapped his sharp around her ankles and threw her over the barrier. She screamed and grabbed at anything she could, barely managing to snag the edge of an outcrop on the other side. Scraped and bruised, she looked down hearing the roar of the river below, her head swam. Dust and grit showered onto her face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

The black mini bot stood on the edge. His optics an icey blue instead of the warm gold she loved to get lost in.

"Kehehehe! You know the best part of having been so close to your mech?" his form started to melt, pigment lighting to silver and blue. His sleek head turned angular and pointed, "I had the chance to bypass his security while he was trying to find Bumblebee and deep scan his frame." He chattered, "And you're in for his mistake."

Diana's muscles rippled under her weight, the sharp stone cutting her soft palms, "Killing me will only get you a slow and painful death you bastard!"

"Who said I was going to kill you? I won't, not yet. If you're not dead by the time _he's_ finished with you."

"Wha-?" Diana glanced over her shoulder in time to stare directly into a pair of red optics as a huge hulking form climbed out of the mist, "Ho.Ly. Shit!!" she screamed helplessly as a huge metal hand snatched her off the cliff face. He tossed her into the air, transformed in time for her to drop in his pilot's seat, slammed down his canopy and boosted out of the canyon. Frenzy attached himself to his wing as he transformed into what might've been an antennae. But that went unnoticed as Diana squirmed, waiting for her innards to stop squelching from the sudden burst of inertia.

"Let me go you overgrown ugly and mutilated metallic idiotic piece of crap that fails in everything and should just go commit robot suicide already! If there was any easier way to describe you other than moron, believe me I'd know, but seeing as there isn't, all I'm left with is bashing on your mental capabilities - _or lack there of_ - which is so easy to my dear brain, that it should be a crime!" she gasped as the fighter jet jerked left causing her unprotected head to smack into the canopy, stunning her. Straps snaked themselves around her form securing her.

"_Is she always this… energetic?"_ Starscream asked.

"_That's her bark, you should feel her bite."_ Frenzy responded simply. His head was still ringing from when she'd struck him with all the strength she could muster. It hadn't been blind anger either which unnerved Frenzy a bit. She'd controlled and channeled her emotions quite well for a civilian human, almost better than any soldier than he'd run into. Starscream banked right and circled the base.

O

"Commander! I just picked up a Decepticon signal departing from the canyon." Prowl informed the big mech as he came in from his search of the missing fragment.

"Who is it?"

"Make that two, it was Frenzy and Starscream. I don't understand why we didn't pick up their signals sooner!"

"Frenzy's supposed to be in containment! How'd he get out?!" Ironhide snarled.

"What's going on?" Bumblebee asked as he rushed in with the twins on either side and Stalker on his shoulder.

"Good to see you again in your original forms." Optimus greeted them before turning back to the business at hand, "Frenzy escaped, he's circling the base with Starscream."

"What?!" Stalker exclaimed.

"_This is Starscream to Autobot Command."_

Prime touched a key on the console, "What is it you want? You have your infiltrator back, be gone."

"_Oh it's not so much what I want, Optimus it's what your crew wants."_

"Your point?"

"_Find me the red femme known as Sparkle that is in hiding at the moment and we'll continue this conversation."_ The terminal beeped, indicating the channel had been cut off.

"Let me go out there and take care of that son of a glitch Prime!" Jetfire offered.

"No, he hasn't given any hostility yet."

"You're always too trusting Optimus!" Jetfire snipped.

"We will not be the aggressors if we can help it!"

The twins looked at each other as the argument ensued, both considering whether or not this was a situation that called for Sparkle's presence.

"But Optimus! She's fraggin' hard enough to find inside our own base! And that's when she wants to be found! How're we goin' to find her within a reasonable amount of time?" Jazz was asking when the twins tuned back in.

Bee suddenly saw Stalker stiffen in his peripheral, "Stalker? Is something wrong?" the scout asked.

"Th-this can't be right!" Stalker was trembling, heat rising off his frame as anger boiled in his Energon lines.

"What?"

"I was searching for Diana via my extension and the signal keeps coming from _outside_ the base _above_ the ground! Like she's in Starscream or something!" he double, triple quadruple checked and let out a scream of rage, "Collateral?! They dare use _my_ human for collateral?!"

All the Autobots looked at each other at this new bit of information.

"Can you contact her, Stalker?" Arcee asked.

He shook his head, "Communication signals jammed, he probably knew I'd find out." The ebony mech growled. He couldn't believe this! It was one thing after another for Diana when would it ever stop? _Primus what is the cruel karma you're serving?!_ Stalker blinked. Since when had he started believing in 'karma'? That was Diana's thing being the superstitious human she was.

Stalker stood up on two legs, "Commander, we must find Sparkle. She's difficult, but not impossible to find." He pleaded.

"Start off with the base, this is where she was last seen." Prime ordered and Autobots scattered.

Stalker switched rides by pushing off of Bee and landing on Prowl's shoulder, "Sir, permission to access the security files of today?"

"Granted, but don't be too long."

He nodded and leaped onto the nearby console and pulled up the files.

He felt someone hovering over him and when he turned to see who it was, Bumblebee and Arcee stood there.

"What are you looking for?" the pink marksman asked.

"I just have to confirm something."

A video file popped up revealing the entirety of the brig. He zoomed in on Frenzy who appeared to be fiddling with the collar around his neck. At last the silver 'Con tore it off and managed to free himself of the cage. Frenzy stood there for a moment whirring and hissing, trembling as if in pain. Then to Stalker's horror changed his shape to an exact copy of himself before exiting the brig.

"Fragger! I'm going to kill him!!" Stalker snarled. He didn't notice that the intensity of his emotions was overriding the bond in which he shared with Frenzy.

O

Jazz wandered the halls keeping all sensors trained for the search. He didn't rely on them though because of the fact that Sparkle's armor reflected these sorts of signals very well making her almost invisible. As much as she frustrated him at times, he couldn't help but feel a great affinity for her. She had after all, brought him back online.

The bipedal Pontiac recalled the first image he could remember in his waking. It had been a blur of bright red light, Sparkle the glimmering center, it had seemed as if her entire front was cracked open to release this all powerful healing from within. Jazz smiled at the memory.

"This calls for Sparkle's attention does it not?"

Jazz stopped in his tracks. The voice was coming from around the corner and fading as the speakers kept going.

"I don't know Sunny, she said only in absolute need that we wake her out of stasis lock."

_What?! Those two know where she is?! Why didn't they speak up?_ Jazz proceeded to stealth mode, wanting to know everything.

"It involves Diana doesn't it? You know that witch has a liking to that girl."

"Yeah but…"

Both stiffened as their audio receptors were filled with beeps, warbles and screeches from Sparky's input on the matter.

"Ok fine! Little pipsqueak! We'll go get her, but don't blame us for anything that happens when we open that door." Sunstreaker retorted.

"Open what door?"

The twins whirled around at Jazz's question.

"A friend is in trouble and you two don't speak up with this useful information?" Jazz's tone suggested he wasn't talking on a level of equality toward them. It was as their lieutenant.

The twins looked at each other then back at Jazz.

"She… just come with us, sir." Sideswipe said and lead the way.

The twins led Jazz to a section of the base that wasn't in use yet.

They popped open a hidden terminal and punched in an elaborate code topped with optical scans. The sound of heavy locks clicking out of place reached Jazz's receptors. The door automatically started to open and as soon as it did the line of red light broadened until it engulfed the entire doorway.

"Whoa…" Sunstreaker stepped back in awe.

The entire being of Sparkle's still body was radiating wave after wave of Energon. The different pastels curling around, shifting splitting and circling calmly around the femme as she slept. The symbols that decorated her armor were glowing faintly.

As soon as the dampening door had opened the amount of energy being generated by Sparkle was immediately noticed by every single mechanoid on the base.

Jazz let out a long whistle, "Talk about sleeping beauty." He could feel his Energon lines rushing with excess again, causing him to start fidgeting.

"_Jazz! What is that Energon signature that just blinded my sensors??"_ Optimus called via com link.

"That would be our Sparkle, Commander." Jazz replied.

"_Care to explain why you've awakened me early?"_ Sparkle asked in Cybertronian. It sounded as if all her shyness they knew her for had vanished. The femme didn't move but the Energon around her started flowing faster, as if showing her annoyance.

Sideswipe was just waiting for her drone to shock them as he quickly explained the situation.

Her optics slowly opened as she heard the part about Diana. For a long moment she considered just leaving the girl to her fate and then regretted it. It wasn't fair to treat a friend that way, especially one who'd been through so much just to be friends with the Autobots.

_They just couldn't wait till I'd reached my critical point could they?_

O

All of the Autobots had been drawn in by the massive source of Energon that was now roaming the base. However they skirted away as she approached, unsure of what to make of her.

Sparkle come up to the main exit but did not leave the relative safety of the base. She could feel the curious optics of all of the personnel on her back but ignored them.

"_What is it you want Starscream?"_ she asked.

The jet type Decepticon soured into view before arcing back around keeping just out of range of any defense system trained on him, _"You're close to your peak, that makes this much easier on my patience."_

"_Get on with it."_ Sparkle snarled.

"_We'd been intending on trying to recreate a spark but your existence has made that plan obsolete."_

"_I told you I would not bare a spark for you Decepticons."_ She planted her feet holding up her hands, the Energon beginning to curl into a ball in front of her.

"_Well then,"_ Starscream suddenly barrel rolled so that his cockpit was facing the earth. Diana felt the straps release and for the second time that day had her head slammed against the canopy, _"It's a rather long way down for a human wouldn't you say?"_

Sparkle stopped her attack.

"Don't listen to him Sparkle! Don't you dare become his cow for my measly little life!" Diana moaned. She opened her eyes and instantly regretted it because the fact that glass was the only thing between her and the ground far far far below made her stomach turn.

Sparkle blinked in surprise. The human was willing to sacrifice herself for someone she hardly knew… how admirable, but stupid.

Stalker ran out so that he could see the Decepticon, spines bristling to his mood,_ "Leave Diana out of this you arrogant hot head! She can't defend herself from you and that's not fair!"_

"_What's that human saying… oh yes: All's fair in love and war."_ Starscream snickered, _"This is Sparkle's decision."_

"Sparkle, what is going on?"

The femme slowly glanced over her shoulder at Optimus, her pink optics had turned almost white in her power buildup.

"I'm about to make a very big mistake."

Sparkle's back shafts fluttered and the Energon around her swirled in a tight tornado of power, _"Show me what you want done, Decepticon."_

"_That's better."_

Diana yelped when he spun right side up again and locked her in his seat. She hadn't had time to move her arms so one was stuck in an odd position.

"Did I mention you're a sorry excuse for a fragtard you cowardly pathetic excuse for a scrap heap?" Diana bit back a whimper of pain as the straps tightened painfully, threatening to pop her awkward arm out of its socket.

"I don't have to give you back in perfect condition just so you know, meatball." Starscream retorted.

Diana considered spitting something back but then thought better of it. It wasn't exactly wise to be infuriating your captor especially when you were directly inside them. She saw Sparkle in her jet form fly up to Starscream's left wing, an aura of energy flowing around the glimmering entity. Diana looked away, her face burning in shame.

Stalker turned aggressively to his commander, "We have to go after them! Sir please!"

"I know, Stalker! Please stay calm about this." Prime turned to Jetfire and inquired about something.

Jazz looked at the twins who shrunk back, "What is Sparkle exactly you two?" he asked in a low voice.

Sideswipe stepped forward, "Sir, she's an Avatar of the Allspark, she can bare forth sparks on her own." He began.

O

When they arrived at their destination of an abandoned air base hanger, Starscream transformed and dropped Diana on a catwalk nearest to him, "Ouch! You don't have to mech handle me so hard you-!" Diana's insult was cut off when Frenzy dropped off of Starscream's shoulder and pointed one of his guns at her, "You need to shut up! I'm sick of hearing that squeaky little voice of yours!"

"Yeah well I'm sick of hearing your nails on a chalk board voice!" Diana side stepped being smacked in the face by the barrel of his cannon snagged his arm and flipped him over her hip, slamming the Decepticon as hard as she could against the floor of the catwalk causing it to shake. Frenzy rolled to his feet and whipped around sending one well aimed blade her direction, slicing a deep gash on the side of her face.

"Stop it both of you!!" Starscream bellowed as Sparkle flew in, she transformed in mid flight and landed softly.

The two settled for glaring holes into each other's eyes.

Immediately Sparkle noticed a plane of human design being kept in the corner of the hanger, from quick research she saw that it was a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.

Starscream stepped next to her, "That pathetic piece of scrap alone isn't worth much as is."

"You want me to put a spark in a refurbished form of it?" she asked.

"Exactly."

Diana finally took note of her surroundings, "How the hell did you get a hold of a bomber?! It's not like they're just laying around waiting to be picked up!"

"Oh this place wasn't always so pure of organic life forms." Explained a scratchy hissy voice.

Diana looked around then realized the voice was from above. She did her best not to squeak a curse when she saw the owner was a giant mechanoid arachnid, to make it worse there was two of them.

"You! You two!! Where's Ratchet?!"

"Oh cool your jets human." The more feminine spider slid down on her thread so that she was right next to where Diana and Frenzy were standing, "He's fine, right now he's recharging peacefully."

"As if!"

The black and gold femme snickered.

"Don't make me tear out those ugly little eyes of yours!"

"Tut tut… if I remember correctly it was your battle partner that ripped out half of mine." Turantulas hissed and dropped to the other side of Diana. This close to two giant beast bots she was almost overwhelmed by the rancid smell of cadaver, "Perhaps I should return the favor?" Diana saw now a scar across four rejuvenated optics. She backed up quickly to dodge his pincers only to be grabbed by Blackarachnia.

"Let go!" she growled.

"Well this is a lively one." The widow type commented trying to not break her new toy as it wriggled ferociously in her pincers, "She's hardly secreting any fear pheromones at all, how very interesting."

"Leave her alone you disgusting things!"

The spiders glanced over at an infuriated Sparkle. The femme was trembling, her aura writhing around her body. Blackarachnia hissed but set the human down who gave her the highway one sign and ran down the catwalk until she was standing above of Sparkle.

Starscream snorted in impatience, "Hurry Avatar, the Autobots will be here soon."

"Then give me your blueprint." The words felt like rust in her processors. The silver mech sneered and approached Sparkle, who looked away in disgust.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Diana snarled. It was an empty threat though. She couldn't do anything without any weapons or even Stalker beside her. She was a useless piece of flesh at the moment. This fact made hot tears of frustration stream down her face.

Every nook and cranny of Starscream's being began to glow a hot white blue as he loomed over the femme, Sparkle closed her optics and screamed when the Decepticon code combined with her aura turning it a violent purple. The purity of the spark she'd been gathering for tainted with a perception. Sparkle stood before the stealth bomber with her hands held up, the energy wrapped lovingly around the cold hearted war machine.

Bolts of red Energon passed between her and the bomber, clicks, whirs, warbling and finally a hiss as the bomber suddenly transformed, hovering in mid air from being connected to the Avatar. It's bipedal form was a little more humanoid then the others but still retained the angular features of a Decepticon.

The huge husk bowed backwards, its chest plate clicking open to reveal an empty spark chamber.

Sparkle's back shafts suddenly closed behind her, like a flower sleeping for the night. A bright shining sphere of light exited from her back and was held gently amidst the glowing symbols. Diana could only guess that that was Sparkle's spark, leaving her own body to make room for the new one.

The Allspark's Avatar let out a pure note of ecstasy as energy fluctuated and gathered at her core, her midsection snapped open flaring with layer upon layer of life giving Energon as it curled into a spark.

"A Decepticon with that much firepower will be a force to be reckoned with." Turantulas said quietly to his cohort after he'd finished his scans of the husk.

"She had two nuclear missiles inside of her, she's going to be able to recreate those…" Blackarachnia mused.

Diana looked up at the words 'nuclear missiles'. She'd asked Ratchet about that sort of scenario and he'd said the actual radiation wouldn't do much to a Cybertronian, they'd be either incinerated or damaged beyond repair yes if they'd been in the blast range though. But those sort of missiles in the hands of a Decepticon that could remake them?? The entire human race might as well turn over and kiss their asses goodbye because Diana had been positive on their way in there were three more of these B-2 Spirit bombers parked outside.

An explosion rocked the base.

Starscream hissed in annoyance and looked outside to see his fellow Decepticons engaging in a full frontal assault with the Autobots.

"Hurry, Avatar!"

The spark developing inside her midsection drew upon all of her excess energy build up, curling it into itself, calling to Primus and the Allspark for the blessing of life. Diana watched in horror as the spark suddenly stabilized and started to rise, softly carried by jolts of Energon. She glanced from the spark to the awaiting Decepticon sparkling.

"Fuck this! You damn Decepticons will _not_ be destroying _my_ race so easily!!" Diana snarled.

Outside Bumblebee was locked in hand to hand combat with Skywarp, explosions searing their armor from all sides as missiles missed their targets. Out of his peripheral Bee thought he saw the familiar contrasting colors of Barricade.

Suddenly Barricade's advance was halted by the fact that a familiar ball of bladed fury popped out of one of Bee's shoulder compartments, savagely attacking the giant's head.

Stalker only stayed long enough to render Barricade useless before hopping off and galloping as fast as he could toward the hanger. He could see Diana from where he was, standing with her back turned to the fight next to Frenzy on the catwalk. Her figure was almost drowned out by the heavenly light radiating from Sparkle's lovely form.

He suddenly skidded to a halt when he saw Diana start fighting with Frenzy who seemed to be trying to hold her in place. She slammed her fists against his head drawing her own blood from his spikes, grabbed his long neck and threw him off of her and… jumped off the catwalk falling straight into Sparkle's chest cavity.

All of the energon suddenly flared and then collapsed back into the Avatar, wave after wave of power casting silence over the battle field.

The sparkling husk crumbled to the floor.

"DIIIAAAANNAA!!!!"

**OOO**

**Oh whoops… it's the end of the chapter.**

**Don't hurt me.**

**I know I delayed and I sorry, vacation was just so nice and lazy.**

**Thank you in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I give thanks to I'm Flying With Broken Wings, P.A.W. 07, k3n5h1n, Quillian, Legion Fardreamer, Rogue15, haha21 and lendaras for the adds. () **

**Wow I'm glad to've had the responses I did for last chappie's cliffhanger. All the love shown fro Diana and Stalker…. –le sigh- makes me so happy (and even more inspired to write).**

**WARNING:**

**I may be upping the ratings very very soon for violence, just to forewarn those with a squeamish stomach. No I don't go into every gory detail but hey, I need to be safe with my ratings.**

**Chapter 22:**

Nothing.

Nothing else mattered.

The objectives of all sides gathered into the melting pot that battle was stirring up from the bowels of desperation; adding a dash of intoxicating Energon and a pinch of bitterly aged passions. Bullets sang through the air, missiles bellowed upon explosive impact. Screams that were unfamiliar to Earth's ears echoed across the land.

Grunting, Sparkle jerked, whirled around and spat the human out of herself, slamming her midsection shut. Light swirled around the trembling entity for a few seconds before winking out. She jerked, lifting her head weakly and screamed. However, it wasn't just a compression of air molecules that escaped her throat. No, a high pitched whine accompanied her expression of discomfort, a sound that snared all of the transformers attention since the sound was so peculiar. It wasn't just a sound, it was an electronic signal that acknowledged itself in their brains as living machines.

An ebony and green blur streaked across the flaming airfield, skidding to a stop just before his shaking friend. Her tan skin had turned a bluish gray and her long black hair a silvery white. Stalker ignored all the chaos around him as he pushed her over, calling her name over and over again. He scanned her vitals but only found a confusing mess of information he couldn't process. Amidst her spasms Diana managed to open her eyes to see who was touching her. Stalker couldn't help but stare at her.

Diana's electric and friendly brown eyes were now a serene translucent mechanical swirl of glowing pinpoints, silver against black. Shining liquids started pooling out of her forehead, ears, temples and eyes. She jerked upward and screamed again.

The transformers approaching the area around the girl were suddenly knocked off of their feet from an unseen force. The spiderbots transformed and aimed at Diana but were interrupted by a glancing blow from a very weak Sparkle. Bumblebee and Arcee lunged forward to protect their fallen friend.

Stalker shook the shock from his systems and approached her again, "Diana? Diana! Answer me!" he yelped when she grabbed his face with one hand and sat up, her hair billowing out. The glimmering white liquid trickling down her angry face.

"D-Dia?" Stalker tried to break her grip but it was surprisingly strong.

She coughed hard, then snapped her attention away.

Frenzy, who'd been sneaking up to them was suddenly thrown back even though nothing seemed to have touched him. He screeched, rolling to his feet and backing away, unsure of how to deal with this new phenomenon. Diana coughed again, this time shining specks of blood spilling from her mouth. She let go of Stalker and sobbed, gripping her head tightly, clawing and pulling at her hair, "Make it stop! Make it go away!!" she begged, her voice sounding as if there was several speaking at once.

Stalker growled at Turantulas who looked like he was intending on picking up such a prize of discovery. The large mechanoid hissed in laughter, loading poisonous projectiles in his weaponry, bladed limbs fanning out, hungry to pierce Stalker's small spark.

"Why is it that's it's always you spiders?!" a black and yellow form flashed across the battle field, leaped and landed right on the arachnid's head. The big cat clawed away until he was threw off. He flipped in midair and slid across the gravely runway.

"Get this girl out of here!" the beast bot ordered Stalker and Arcee before racing off to face the spider again, accompanied by Bumblebee who'd finally managed to throw off Starscream to Ironhide.

"Let's go!" Arcee transformed and Stalker dragged a struggling Diana onto her seat, leapt on over her and clamped on, making sure she didn't fall as the marksmen burned rubber out off of the air field with Wheeljack and Jetfire as their escort.

Optimus was looking around scanning frantically, calling out for their beloved doctor and friend when he heard something that wasn't of Cybertronian origin. He turned from the battle and saw a single black helicopter hovering in the distance, circling the battle like a vulture. Except what it was intending to eat was unclear. The commander shook his head, not having time to deal with the humans at the moment. The Avatar was still up for grabs but at the moment was in Blackarachnia's ugly little pincers. Sparkle was so drained that she merely lay where she'd fallen, allowing the spider to drag her away.

"Where do ya think you're goin' with her our pretty little guest?"

Blackarachnia hissed in her beast form, stepping over her prey raising her bladed legs in threat. Jazz was joined on either side by Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.

"Someplace where she can recharge undisturbed by corny individuals like you." She sneered, clicks could be heard as the guns in her legs started to place themselves together.

"I think she prefers corniness to abuse." Sunny retorted. All three Autobots had to dodge and roll out of the dangerous spray of bullets she released. They were forced further back when a second set of explosive rounds started seeking them out.

"Slag! These guys come out of nowhere!" Jazz snarled as he lay cover fire for the twins to escape, he couldn't target where the new shooter was and at this point he wasn't allowed to care because Blackarachnia dragged Sparkle into the depths of her hole. Sideswipe weaved up a plasma bomb and tossed it in the general direction of the shooting, when the explosion halted the assault Jazz ran across the opening and dived into the den managing to grab Sparkle's foot, "Let go a her you Decepticon whore!!" he snarled, pointing his arm canon at the spiderbot's face and fired. Grains spilled off of the walls as Blackarachnia hissed and warbled.

"Jazz!" the twins screamed.

Arcee slid to a screeching halt when Blackout landed in front of them, he grinned charging up his area effect blaster.

"Back off!" Jetfire slammed into the Con from the side, the two flyers toppling over each other fighting for dominance. Diana suddenly lifted her head at the noise created from the battling mechs, hair floating up from the sudden movement.

Stalker stroked her shoulder, "It's ok." He assured.

She twitched, then looked at him, glowing droplets of blood dotting her lashes.

"It still hasn't stopped." She coughed.

"What hasn't stopped?"

Diana suddenly shoved him aside and leaped off of Arcee, except that she didn't stop going up. She went up until she was at Wheeljack's very surprised optic level.

She tilted her head looking at him, "You aren't enough." The blood started soaking through her shirt along the length of her spine.

"Uhh… may I inquire as to what I'm not enough for?" the scientist asked.

"To save me." Diana smiled pleasantly.

Jazz noted the amount of fear in his comrades vocals and he realized why when his own foot was snagged and he was pulled out of the hole (he refused to let go of Sparkle so she was dragged out as well).

"Hrmm…. It's annoying being the rag doll." Sparkle murmured through bleary optics.

Jazz flipped over and to his horror was facing Ratchet, the doctor pulled back his buzz saw and slammed the ground where Jazz had been a nano second ago.

"HOLY PRIMUS!! RATCHET!! What the FRAG has gotten into you??!?!" Jazz dodged the other's gun rounds.

"Nothing in particular." He replied calmly, waiting for his plasma rounds to regenerate.

Sparkle struggled to sit up, this was an extreme chore for her and it made her joints burn with the lack of energon flowing in her systems, "Ratchet! Stop! You're attacking your friends!" she cried.

Ratchet knelt taking her chin in his digits, "I would beg to differ on the 'friend' part." He looked at Jazz and lounged, the lieutenant yelped and tripped over the still forms of the twins who seemed to have been slashed up in several key places that kept a transformer upright.

Suddenly there was a loud pop and Diana seemed to appear from thin air in front of Jazz. She held up a scolding finger as the doctor skidded to a halt, perplexed at this new development.

"And I liked you Ratchet… do you honestly have to be swooned by a spider? I mean come on! It's a spider! They're creepy!" she shuddered, her clothes soaked in her own blood pushing through her gray skin. Ratchet stared at her in puzzlement as slowly she lowered herself to the ground. Tears streaking down her face, she scrunched her eyes closed and pulled at her hair again, "Stalker!!" she screamed.

"Ratchet?"

The doctor whipped around pointing his weapon at the commander, "Optimus Prime."

Stalker ran inside, slowing and cloaking partially when he saw the mechs until he was next to Diana. He held her close, "What is wrong Diana?!" he asked.

"W-what are you doing?! No, no you haven't been reformatted! It's impossible!"

"When you do nothing but tinker all day like a spider, anything's possible." Ratchet grinned, "What's nice is that as your former doctor I know all of your weak spots that even you don't know about."

"Don't even bother, Ratchet."

All of the Transformers looked down at Diana who was leaning into Stalker's embrace, trembling. She glared up at them all, whether out of hate or just from pain they couldn't tell.

Again Diana scrunched her eyes closed and whimpered, she held Stalker closer, tears sliding down her face.

"Don't kill him Ratchet, that would just bring death upon you." She whispered.

"What the frag are you talkin' about little spark??" Jazz blurted.

Stalker pushed her hair out of her face, droplets of blood smearing against his claws, "It all hurts… Stalker… make it all go away… make it all go away or I will!!" she screamed inhumanly, hair billowing out and again the transformers were smashed into by an unseen force.

When Stalker recovered he looked up to see Diana hovering over the husk's empty spark chamber. A few drops of blood dropped inside and without warning the Decepticon femme sparked and warbled, jerked violently and struggled to get up.

Shots filled the air and Diana snarled, the bullets had bounced off, leaving an ugly black mark. She looked up to see the culprit had been a sniper human. Glaring she dropped into the chamber herself and the chest plate locks snapped in place.

"Diana!" Stalker dodged the flyer's foot then leaped onto the Decepticon.

"Back off! Back off!" Prime ordered dragging the twins with the help of Jazz away from the crazed transformer. Ratchet however didn't listen, he held his ground as the vicious looking femme growled, opening a missile silo and releasing a barrage taking out the cliff side where she'd last seen the sniper.

"You're confused aren't you."

"Aaahhhh!!" the transformer lounged but Ratchet was faster, sidestepping and cracking her on the head with the end of his gun. Before the femme hit the ground her chest plate popped open and Diana bounced out and back into the air to a transformer's eye level. She glared at Ratchet with eyes that told him she didn't recognize anyone anymore. She was in pure survival mode now.

The air was suddenly filled with dark streaks as human piloted f-22 jets screamed across the sky.

When Diana looked up at the new disturbance Ratchet reached out and struck the girl out of the air.

Stalker screamed and flinched when she smacked onto the ground, hearing several crunches that shouldn't have been heard.

"What did you do that for?!" he snarled. Running over to the unconscious girl, thankfully she was still breathing.

The medic shrugged, "I didn't like the look she was giving me."

Hail karma.

Sparkle snuck up behind Ratchet while he was talking and sent a little bit of energon into his neck, causing him to spasm and his systems short out. She fell to her knees venting cold air across her systems, looking like she was about to pass out herself.

The call for a retreat was issued and the Autobots gathered up their wounded and objectives before transforming and rolling out as the humans busied the Decepticons.

OOO

It had started to rain sheets of hail and rain, creating dangerous roads and wind speeds, nature pounded against the dam so hard if felt to Stalker that when he walked down the halls nearer the surface that perhaps the Earth herself was blaming them, the Autobots, for Diana's condition.

The fight for them hadn't gone unnoticed, the government had their hands full answering questions and silencing witnesses and it wasn't going well. Instead of dying away the voices of the people were growing louder.

Stalker trotted away from the winds' howl and headed for the inner sanctum that was the infirmary. Inside the air was tense with static and apprehension. Wheeljack stood next to a tightly bound and guarded Ratchet with his spark casing pried open and was examining something the attachment couldn't see. Sparkle lay in the corner with her back turned on the group. He took this all in with a glance before turning to another section of the med bay that he'd spent the last few weeks sitting next to.

The clear cylinder glowed gently, a mess of cables were bundled at its base and fanning out to several consoles recording data as a modified deep scan was on the verge of being completed. Diana was suspended in the middle of the holding cell, the thick energy holding her in place and pulsing at a rate that kept her asleep. At first Stalker had been relieved to see her sleep so peacefully for once, for the past few months her brow had always been knitted with concern at something she wouldn't tell him about.

They needed to keep the young lady asleep so that she wouldn't exhaust herself, from the data collected at the battle it seemed that this transformation was flawed and incomplete.

Zan was sitting on the bundle of wires with a mint candy in his little digits, he twisted it around and around then finally threw it away squeaking in frustration. He looked up at Diana beeping and warbling that the number of red and white lines just didn't end! They were uncountable on that little circular clump of sugar. Stalker's eyes softened at the amusing sight, it still astounded him how the little drone was so skilled in his work but not be able to comprehend outside of it.

Stalker climbed to the edge of the platform standing up straight and reaching out. The tips of his sharp digits grazed the energy's surface, the disturbance rippled across the pillar bouncing, curling and interrupting. Diana's eye lids twitched.

This was the way he let her know that he was there, he didn't know if she knew it was him disturbing her sleep but somewhere inside his spark layers it comforted him.

"What have you been hiding from me?" he asked quietly. He looked up when the beastbot known as Cheetor walked over to join him.

"She your femme then?" the big cat asked.

"Well… I wouldn't say _my_ femme… she's shown interest and stuff but…" Stalker blinked and set all four of his eyes on the other, "Wait what?!"

Cheetor laughed.

For Stalker it was a little strange to see a Transformer's face contort the way an organic's should for at least physical expression.

"It's ok my demonic looking friend." He transformed and leaped onto one of the consoles, "Have you heard Wheeljack's report on this whole ordeal?"

"Yes I have… it's… rather fascinating from a scientific standpoint. But right now I just want my Diana to come back."

Cheetor didn't comment on the attachment's choice of words as he pressed a few keys and a holoscreen popped up revealing the specs.

"She's what humans call a Telepath."

"I know that, it's supposed to be a myth, a fantasy created a long time ago."

"Well all of this is proving that the myth has some truth to it. Perhaps that's where humans are going as far as evolution."

Stalker thought a moment, ignoring the fact that Zan was now hanging from him as if he were a tree, "Well, she did often have times, almost all of them when she was asleep, where she her brain activity would go off the scale. And then when something that should've traumatized her came up, she didn't act surprised at all, like she knew it was coming."

"Perhaps the government is keeping tabs."

"What?"

Cheetor brought up another screen, "I heard from Optimus that one branch of the human government is becoming particularly desperate about getting Diana back." He made a few more keystrokes, "Perhaps they're keeping track of those with potential change in-."

"-in their genetic evolution."

Cheetor smiled, "Exactly."

Stalker growled so ferociously that Zan beeped in surprise and scampered off a short distance. It was happening again, he was bringing terrible events to those he loved and cared for. He looked up at Diana. _Please forgive me._

Had Diana stayed inside of Sparkle's generation chamber a second longer than she had she would've been incinerated completely, but now she was still dying. Sleeping was helping slow the process because of the fact that she wasn't able to use her wild and dangerous ability to manipulate the world around her. The fact that her organic body had adapted to absorbing the Decepticon spark instead of being destroyed by it fascinated the entire base for it was an unexpected result. If a transformer wanted to adapt they had to either be modified or be upgraded entirely where as a squishy, although slowly, adapted physically and their variant adaptation made them very endurable to almost anything.

But a cross of Cybertronian spirit…

"boo…" Zan chirped, pointing at Diana. He wanted his favorite squishy awake and playing cards again.

Stalker approached Wheeljack who was sitting just a little ways from where he'd been working, holding his head in one hand.

"Wheeljack?"

The scientist sat up and smiled, obviously tired, "What can I do for you?"

"How's re-reformatting Ratchet coming?"

"Whatever that spider did to him was very effective… and intricate." He shuddered, the thought of Blackarachnia's cold little hands poking around inside a spark chamber obviously an upsetting one, "Ahem… and him resisting is not making it any easier."

"Don't worry, you can do it." Stalker assured. _You have to_.

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Jazz who first stopped to see how the deep scans were going with Diana, exchanging a few words with Cheetor as well. Zan squeaked and ran to the side of the console, opened a compartment and disappeared inside slamming the small door shut. A few seconds later his hand popped back out and he stuck a bright yellow sticky note on the door with a little message written in Cybertronian: Be Back In Five Minutes.

Sparkle twitched and sat up, her energon reserves had recouped enough that if she needed to defend herself she could but with no real advantage.

"Hey where're ya goin'?" Jazz asked.

"Out, I'm tired have being hung around by all you mechs." She eyed the two Autobots meant to keep an eye on her.

Jazz grabbed her wrist to stop her, "You aren't thinking of goin' out there? It's not safe! The Decepticons are all over the place, they know we know they're out there and they don't care. They're waiting for _you _to come out."

"I'm not going outside Jazz. I just don't want to be in the same room as Diana." Sparkle looked up at the sleeping girl. She noticed Jazz was watching her peculiarly and she realized she was unconsciously holding onto her chest plate. Quickly she let go and left, the guards trailing after her.

"Diana would say the air's thick enough to chew on in here, sooo much tension." Zack said from where he observed the entire scene near the consoles.

"Yeah well you're too relaxed."

"It's the bananas." Zack shrugged, "It's late, I'm going to bed."

"Nathan."

The adolescent stopped and looked back at Stalker, curious as to why the mech was addressing him by his real name.

"Did you anything about this?" he gestured, "About Diana being this Telepath?"

Slowly he shook his head, "Not officially, Dia would constantly tell me her de ja vus. But I didn't think too much about it." He stopped after a few more steps, "She only can see things that affect her personally, so it's not like the myths where they see everything." He exited.

O

The storm only worsened through the night.

Hail pounded against the damn, slush and thunder twirling in the sky in a dangerous dance of the elements. Thunder clapped, occasionally exactly over the dam and sending a dull echo to the lower floors where Stalker would hear it, wake up, check on Diana, roll over and go back into stasis.

_Go away Shadow. I'm trying to sleep._

"_Going crazy are ya? Talking to a figment of your memories."_

Stalker twitched.

"_I wish I could still be there to protect you, because I don't know what's going to happen now that I'm not there."_

_What are you saying?_

"_Frenzy's right, I_ am _a thief of sparks."_

Sitting bolt upright as another rumble vibrated his joints, Stalker vented air across his overheating circuits.

"Fragger…" he muttered without meaning. He looked up and started to find that the cylinder was empty.

"Diana?!" he jumped up.

Diana looked over her shoulder from where she was floating above the incapacitated Ratchet. She placed a finger to her lips, softly hissing for him to be silent.

"Diana! Wha- how?" he finally managed to stutter, running over to the berth and climbing onto it.

She held out her hand, the scabbing around her temples breaking, the bleeding a physical side affect of her telepathic powers, Stalker wouldn't be surprised if Diana had a massive head ache at the moment.

Ratchet's frame jerked against its restraints and trembled as a sickly green liquid swirled out of his spark chamber's sensitive wiring and balled up above Diana's palm.

"Diana come on! Why don't you answer me!" Stalker yelled. He jumped when she tossed the sphere over the side, the nanytes splattered against the floor and died, not having a host to feed off of. Zan flew out of the darkness climbing onto Ratchet's still form and leaped onto Diana, "ooooh! Beep bo bwoop rrr!" he chittered in his drone lingo. She smiled and kissed his head gently. Zan's optics filled with little hearts as he fell off of her arm onto the berth.

Diana gently settled down on the berth and approached Stalker who straightened to his full height with every step she took. She was smiling funny, her eye lids drooping halfway as she circled him closely. Before hopping off the berth she took a drop of her shining blood and blew it out of her palm as if it were shining particles of glitter. The energy bounced onto his face, causing his spark to flutter as if a femme attachment had just brushed his face closely with hers.

Stalker blinked and then shook himself back to his senses, jumping down to where Diana was on the ground, "Diana! Talk to me! Why didn't you tell me you were being followed for any other reason than me?" he asked. As soon as he stood up straight Diana gripped his chin tilting his head up and pressed her forehead against his.

This intimacy Stalker had been forbidden to do for the past week and now he understood why.

Diana had become a spark without a body.

The ebony and green mech started trembling as a light aura of energy shimmered across her body toward his own. Everything went pleasurably dim and cozy as the sharing of memories came. The sharing of one's very existence.

The partial bond dissolved and was replaced with warmth, security, and love.

Stalker suddenly found himself as his synthoid form sitting in Diana's living room.

"It's kind of rude to not show the boy to the parents first before something like this… but I guess it's not exactly normal circumstances." Diana was suddenly beside him, her body had returned to its normal coloring. She laughed, "I wanted to see the look on my first love's face when Dad would put a sword on his shoulder, stand next to us and say: 'So where're we goin' for the first date?'"

Stalker frowned, "Diana…"

"Right, sorry! So you've been blabbering on with questions about why I didn't tell you."

"Yes. My vocals hurt from asking it so much."

"And my ears are tired of hearing it so here's the sitch." She sat up straight pulling her feet off the floor and underneath her bum, "When I was little, I went to a psychiatrist because I kept telling my parents about my dreams and it didn't bother them until one happened about my grandparents."

"Your parents?"

She waved off his suspicions, "They're oblivious even today of what really went on in that office. I think after a few sessions the doctor dude… can't remember his name, sent in his stuff to a few people and the passing of notes went on and on and then the government got whiff of it and hence why I hated you in the beginning because I always felt like I was being stalked… which I was. I was being watched."

"It's that simple?"

She shrugged, "Nothing's ever simple. That's just the lowdown cause I don't think I can keep up this rather pleasantly tingly link for very much longer. Disappointing I know." She straddled him, grabbed his face and kissed him heatedly. When she pulled away he whined.

She laughed, "Don't worry there'll be more to come… I just need to let you in on something."

"What?" he asked, annoyed at the fact that this matter was interrupting their kissing.

"I'm going to cause a lot of pain for you guys soon, just remember… I'm not supposed to be like this... half transformer I mean." When she opened her eyes they were glowing red.

Overload was hit and Stalker crashed to the floor, his vents finally listening to his commands and cooling his circuitries. He shuddered, trying to clear his systems, he felt light and happy, when he looked up Diana was still standing, hair billowing despite there was no wind in the facility, she watched him with a lucid expression. She smiled and walked over to the cylinder and stepped into the subtle beam of energy and settled down, eventually the bleeding stopped and she was at peace again.

Limbs shaking underneath his weight, Stalker stumbled to stay upright for a few moments. A closing door made him jump sky ward, he glanced over his shoulder to see Sparkle standing in the darkness.

_She looks pissed._ Shadow snickered.

"_SHUT UP!!"_ Stalker shook his head to clear the presence from his mind.

"Sparkle, what are you doing here?" Stalker asked, as calmly as he could.

"Interesting creatures these humans are." Sparkle mused aloud, "If they don't kill off their environment first they could be a formidable race someday." She looked back at Stalker, "Soon… soon you won't have to worry about fading into the night. Perhaps you'll stay friends with the humans and see the time when they become powerful."

"They're coming aren't they? The rest of you I mean."

She nodded, "Earth should be detecting the Ark's approach within the next few days… maybe sooner." She sounded both hopeful and scared. Stalker looked where her optics trailed to where Ratchet lay exposed and had to scoot out of the way as Sparkle passed him. She looked down at his now calmly pulsing spark, its heavenly light dancing across her highly polished armor. For a moment she considered it and then realized how evil and lustful the urge was.

"I think Diana fixed him… or at least took out the main ingredient for Blackarachnia's trickery." He pointed to the mess on the floor.

"Hmm." She passed her hand over Ratchet and the bonds unsnapped and his chest plate clicked closed, dousing the room in near complete darkness. Stalker watched her move to the berth she'd been using for the past week.

"Don't die, Stalker. You are needed more than you know." She warned before slipping into stasis.

"I don't plan on it." Stalker turned and looked at Diana. Even asleep he could feel her love for him and it made him smile, "Good night, love."

Outside the wind had died down somewhat and the temperature had risen a few degrees, turning everything back into a drizzle.

**OOO**

**Farfetched? I don't care if yousa thinks so because ish mah fic! Hope you all enjoyed this bit! Sorry about the late update I have a lot of crap going on. I can't wait to get to the next few chapters myself though.**

**Thanks in advance for the reviews! They are teh love!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Omg! I'm so not dead! I just can't get the next chapter right! It's driving me crazy! So… I shall supplement your thirst with another flash back since I lacked in Diana and Stalker's beginnings anyways! Is that ok? Good because you ain't gettin' the next chapter till I am satisfied with it. (dodges tomatoes and a rock)**

On the off note, graduation was neat, my favorite part was when I got onto the safety of the stage and didn't get glitter and silly string all over me since I helped sing our school song… although it was kinda annoying to sit and wait for over two hundred students to be called one by one to go up and get… no not their diploma, the COVER for their diploma…. Psh! Lame.

**Excuse any grammar errors n stuffs… I just didn't feel like self editing at the moment.**

Anyways…

**Chapter 23:**

Amidst the nebulous blackness that overtook her in the chamber, Diana found that sometimes she would be watching herself from a different perspective. Occasionally she'd be looking through Ratchet's optics, or Wheeljack's. It felt like when she dreamt those dreams of perspective, only in this case she could control who she was looking through. Occasionally she stretched out to other bots that were nearby, going from Optimus, to Stalker, to the Twins (that was a really strange split experience that she didn't care to do again) and for some reason she couldn't see through Jazz's optics very well. Diana wondered if he was malfunctioning or something.

Diana liked this, the connection that all of the Autobots seemed to have with one another. With humans, the connection was a little more subtle and could easily be broken… or perhaps she was meshing the two together. She could be, she _was_ after all a mix of Cybertronian energies and human flesh now.

The Autobots were so sure of themselves, so positive of who they were and where they stood. Diana wondered how these magnificent beings had come to such a sad ending.

Well… perhaps not an ending…

Ratchet was currently checking up on Sparkle, who was sitting rather still staring at the floor. Her optics once a bright and cheery pink now dull and sad. Maybe it was from dumping all of her energy into creating that new spark. A new spark laced with Starscream's signature.

Occasionally Diana would feel that all of them just annoyed her, them and their… soft ways. Then she would pull back and realize what was happening. The Decepticon line was trying to influence who she really was, it was countered by the fact that Sparkle was a neutral but it was a violent and strong urge, that Decepticon side. Diana just took a step back per say and let them duke it out, allowed the dull headache to linger in the depths of her mind. She had a feeling that she was going to be stuck with these two others for the rest of her natural life.

Suddenly tired of watching what the others were doing, Diana pulled back into herself completely. Her body of course wouldn't respond, the chamber she was in prevented that and also made her thought stream dull and unresponsive for the most part. So she pulled farther back into herself, feeling a friendly and supporting nudge from her loving friend Stalker as she slipped back into the darkness.

Time didn't exist in her mind. It was simply an inconvenience when she was awake. However when she pulled inside of herself, her little universe, there was no reality to keep it in check. Only the complex web of her personality, the deep tangles of her darkest emotions and the flickering threads of light that guided her higher mind through the collection of images, sounds and touch.

The darkness became a grey blur, then shapes and shadows, then colorful blurs sharpened into what had been her home. Curious as to why she was reflecting upon this, Diana focused all her energy in remaining in this cluster of recollection.

O

_One good thing about living in the country was that with the lack of concrete on every inch around your home, it was significantly cooler during the warmer parts of the seasons. The trees gracious shade and strategically placed fans inside the house ensured a cool home with little hits on the electric bill. Diana lay on a blanket in her backyard enjoying the music the wind played through the leaves of the trees._

_It was times like these that her thoughts were uninterrupted by the mainstream of modern life. Such as music, TV, Internet, going out to the mall or movies, it was these times that Diana treasured most out of her hectic life, a moment of solace and stillness. Some people feared this sort of thing, to them it might be a sign that life is stopping, they scramble to fill it with chaos and noise, fearful of the end. Diana found it a little silly, the serenity of stillness allowed one to think… unless you had some nightmarish looking creature watching you from the bushes._

_Frowning, Diana sat up and looked at the thing that fell from the sky. She'd come to notice in the many times he'd revealed himself to her that he was badly scraped and torn, his frame barely holding together. It seemed to her that everything was being held together by sheer will power alone._

_She sighed heavily, "What?"_

"…_What… are you doing?" he often hesitated before speaking, whether it was because of his damaged circuitry or he wanted to make sure of the meaning of his words Diana didn't know. _

"_Laying down."_

"…_I can… see th-that." He stepped out from behind the leaves a bit, "… you look… sad."_

"_Sad? I'm not sad, I'm pondering." Diana flicked a bug off her knee._

"_Ah… I'm s-sorry. I'm still… l-learning your expressions… they often are s-similar to each other." The metallic creature sat on his hunches. A long time passed where they would do this, exchange idle chit chat and then sit, watching one or the other._

"_W-where is your family group?" he asked after a while._

_She shrugged a shoulder, "I don't know." _

"_Don't know? Or… or don't care?" he asked. _

_The sudden edge in his tone, as hard as it was to hear amidst all the static, made Diana look up._

"_What do you mean?" she asked slowly._

"…_Do you not care, where your family goes?" he asked, all four of his dimly lit yellow optics trained on her._

"… _not really…"_

"_Then you don't care for their safety?"_

"_I care for their safety of course! " Diana snorted, "But what's the use in worrying all the time? It would only make me sickly. My parents are smart and experienced, they'll take care of my brother and each other."_

"_Ah…" he looked down, "Good."_

_Something stirred within Diana, "Why do you ask?"_

_The creature looked up again, "Well…" he looked up at the mountains, "My friend was always worried where I went, especially on missions… I'm going to miss him."_

"_Going or are?"_

_He looked back at her, a little surprised. Then he slumped and lay down, "Am… but I'm angry at myself… I'm starting to forget pieces of our history together."_

"_Forgetting?" Diana sat up a little straighter, "Is it because of the fall?"_

"_No… I've always had this problem… if anything's not constant then I forget about it within a given amount of time. The only… r-reason that I still remember the crash is-is because of the pain." He shuddered, sparks flying from a few joints as he hugged himself, "I… I don't want to for-forget Shadow… he… he was my constant, he helped me with so m-much. He was… Shad-dow was like your father… and a f-friend."_

_Diana felt as if a cold stone had dropped in her stomach, her eyes stung a little bit. If there was one thing that she feared most it was the loss of something as precious as a memory. Amnesia was her greatest fear. Sure it didn't really affect the person it was happening to if it was complete, but then it would hurt greatly the friends and family who could remember who you'd been before you'd forgotten. They would be the ones shedding the tears for they might as well had seen the death of their loved one and still see their corpse walking up to greet them tentatively. This thing that was seeking her company, was fearing becoming that living ghost and walking the cosmos alone._

"_Hey, creepy."_

_He looked up._

_She scooted over and patted the spot next to her, "It's better to ponder with a friend." Diana thought she saw the light in his optics brighten a little bit. He stepped forward, then stopped, as if waiting for her to throw something at him and run like she used to. Diana smiled and waited patiently until he'd crawled onto the blanket and slowly lay down with a _clunk!_ Before laying down herself. _

"_You need a name ya know… what is it?" Diana asked._

"…"

"_Well, I'm going to call you 'Stalker', that ok?"_

"_It… is somewhat close to my original design-ignation." He lay on his side, optics closed slowly as he went into stasis, his frame giving one more shudder as everything powered down. Diana watched the alien sleep for a few minutes. Then laced her fingers behind her head and looked up at the sky through the trees._

_She realized now that he was seeking another constant in his life. Just like the sky is the one unchanging thing in all humans life, he was seeking his star, his guide. Perhaps so as to not forget completely who he, himself was. _

O

Who you are, who you are is also who you are with or not with. Diana suddenly saw her family, sitting at home worried sick about her, their only reprieve was her occasional letters that she sent with no return address. Diana suddenly felt cold inside, mentally kicking herself for not letting her family be a little more a part of her secret.

Now however, Diana was sure that they wouldn't recognize her. She was no longer the young lady they knew. Was this as bad as being the walking ghost that Stalker feared he might become? Being unrecognizable by the people that you love?

Diana looked back out at the ones who'd come to care for her over the past year. Would she even recognize herself in this new age?

Stalker suddenly walked up to her still form, sitting and watching her with those optics like what seemed like years ago, when they'd just watch each other.

No.

She wouldn't recognize herself that much she could accept, but she would not forget who she was.

O

"beep?" Zan pointed from his perch on Stalker's head at the waves of energy rippling from Diana's body.

"Her alpha and beta waves are off the chart again… and this aura is of Allspark energies." Ratchet said in awe and confusion. Just as soon as he finished his sentence, Diana went dormant again, everything falling within the parameters of a normal sleep.

Stalker peeled Zan off of his face and set the drone down, "She's adapting… she always does…" he sighed, "She's strong, she'll pull through."

**OOO**

**Short n sweet… I might touch it up laters.**

**Please let me know how my quickie did! Reviews are teh loves!**

**Hopefully next time I'll have the next set of events sorted out.**


	24. Chapter 24

**You know when you rewrite something about six or seven times and you're never satisfied with it?**

**Yeah…**

'**nuff said.**

**Here's your chapter before I blow something up. –pulls curtain aside to hide the charred backround-**

**Don't feel like self editing at the moment… it's harder than it looks peeps.**

**Chapter 24:**

Jazz wondered why his stabilizers were a bit off.

It could have something to do with the pulsing headache he had, plus the irritating and painful thrum against his spark chamber.

The silvery figure stumbled and reached out, steadying himself against the nearby wall.

Where had he been going? Oh yes, to see how Diana had been doing. Poor thing was caught in limbo of their worlds. He wondered how she would cope once she was (crash!) ….. stabilized herself. Jazz shook his head, then realized he'd ran straight into a support beam in the main room.

"beep!"

Glancing down, his sight selected in bright caramel colors what was skittering across the floor. It was Zan and a few of his friends, scurrying away from him.

"_Ratchet? Anyone? I could… use some help here."_ Jazz called through his inner comm. link. It was then that the wooziness subsided and his systems stopped acting like they were on an overload, and not the kind that was wanted. Again he shook himself, bouncing on the tips of his toes, testing himself. He still felt a little ach in the back of his cranial unit, but other than that he felt in premium condition again.

A little flash of light caused him to look down to see Zan's big blue optics watching him.

"Hey there lil' fella… I ain't gonna hurt ya."

"weeeoo?" timidly, Zan crawled into his outstretched palm, wrapping his tail around one digit.

"_Wheeljack here, Ratchet's still a little out of commission. What's the problem?"_

"_I am not!"_

There was a scuffling in the background.

"_Lay back down Ratchet! I'm not finished with my diagnostics!"_

"_You suck at them!"_

CONK!

Crash!

Jazz flinched.

"_Nah I'm alright now… umm… I'll probably need a check up if you survive later."_

"_Copy that. Wheeljack out."_

Zan clicked and whirred inquiringly at his superior. Jazz smiled and gently pinned him down with one digit, sending a very tiny almost nonexistent spark that made a strange bubbly noise come from the drone. Zan kicked the other's digit with his strong hind legs, nibbling on it a bit before standing erect and shaking his little fist at his tickle torturer.

"See? I ain't so bad… what made you think I was bad in the first place?" Jazz asked. Zan clicked and squeaked, running up his arm and rubbing his face against Jazz's neck making a thrumming sound. Jazz realized why Diana liked the little drone so much.

It was then that an announcement was made that the Arc was in trouble.

OO

The Arc had been left in the capable hands of Perceptor, Mirage, Wingsabor and several other Autobots.

Right now however, the ones occupying their seats while they lay on the floor enjoying the most exhilarating energy overload of their life, were a little less caring about if the humans detected them or not.

Sitting in the commander's chair was one of the tinier ones, a gleaming teal lined with small traces of glowing purple lines. She was reclined with her feet on the console in front of her and fingers laced behind her head.

Suddenly she was flicked hard on the cranial unit and her purple optics came online.

"Ooooowwch!" the small femme rubbed where she'd been annoyed, "What was that for??" she clicked in Cybertronian.

The large femme that had done the flicking was a liquid solid black lined in red. Unlike the others, she had a more angular theme to her crown and armored plating like the Decepticons. One might look upon her and call her a true Unicron spawn especially when they were on the receiving end of her serrated blade.

"While you were taking a stasis nap, these mechs almost sifted through their high."

"Oh pshaw!" the other waved her hand, "They wouldn't know what to do with me… they're enjoying themselves as is. I'd just offer them another shot." A glowing orb of teal light appeared in her hands and she tossed it up and down and around.

"Watch ou-!"

The smaller femme squeaked when she missed it, "Oopsy!"

The orb of energy broke when it hit Perceptor's glowing form next to the chair. The energy vaporized into a million individual particles and then merged with the mech.

"I already over energized him!" the black one sighed in exasperation.

"Well he's definitely going to have a hangover now." The teal giggled, then was flicked again.

As Earth came into full view, all twelve of the strange femmes felt a calling toward the hanger bay. Their leader, Specter, was calling for them to move out.

The teal femme punched in a few more commands to Teletraan I, settling it into orbit with the blue planet.

"What do you think Specter will do with Sparkle? She did, after all, take a huge risk jumping through that unstable wormhole alone." She asked while bouncing along behind her friend.

"You know her… then again we're so close and we don't have time for that." The black one looked at her little friend, their auras casting pastel lights across the walls, "First we land, assess the situation ourselves, and then derive our next action."

"Blab la blab la bla just like the first time I know." The teal giggled, taking the other's hand as they went.

OO

"Who authorized the Ark to be moved? Why are they so exposed to the human's sensor arrays??" Prowl was yelling left and right, seeking answers. He knew that the ship was too important to just be revealed to the humans, Optimus knew that, he would inform Prowl if they were going to show their squishy friends.

"The crew isn't responding sir!"

"Then who's making planetfall?" Jetfire asked the Autobot sitting at the console, "Their readings don't match either faction!"

"I know that sir! Plus they're giving off exponential energon readings!"

"Exponential energon readings?" Optimus said as he walked into the command center. He pointed to Red Alert, "Run a cross reference with what we have on Sparkle."

"Yes sir." Red Alert's digits ran across the keypad. A heavy silence filled the room as they waited for his answer.

"Red?"

"Yes, they match her output at full power, but they all seem to have a different… wave of energon." Red Alert shook his head, "I don't understand either, but that's now the point. My scanners show the Decepticons are on the move."

There was a sudden squeal of pain causing everyone to look at Sideswipe. Several armored plats moved aside as the drone known as Sparks detached from the twin's main port and flew as fast as it could out of the room.

"Sideswipe!"

His twin caught his other half as a few of the others gathered round.

"Why was Sparks-?"

"Sparkle needed us to reveal the location of the Ark… so that her friends could get here faster." Sideswipe answered, "I'm sorry sir! That… that thing controlled me!" his trembling stopped when Optimus placed a comforting hand on Sideswipe's shoulder guard.

The red and blue mech straightened up activating inner comm. on all frequencies, "All Autobots, transform and roll out to these coordinates. You will be briefed on the way." Optimus was getting tired of being led around blindly, he wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"_Optimus!"_ Stalker screamed.

O

"No! Sparkle! What are you doing?! She's not stable she can't be removed!" Wheeljack exclaimed, standing between the stasis column that Diana currently occupied and a very agitated Sparkle.

"Wheeljack… I need Diana to come with me." The red femme's tone was sinister, "I won't hurt her, but she has something I need to give back."

"What could Diana possibly have to give? Has she not given enough?!" Stalker hissed from where he stood, "She's given up her humanity to keep you from delivering another to the Decepticon's ranks! What more do you want from her?!" he was in his quadruped setting, so his audios were pinned back like an angry fox's.

Sparkle's optics softened, "I don't want to take anything…. Stalker…. She-."

"No!" Stalker paced in front of the tube, no one noticing the outrageous readings on the panel above as the sleeping figure internally reacted to the calling of Decepticons to arms and the Avatars together.

"Wheeljack move!" Sparkle reached out to make him only to be pulled back by an equally agitated Ratchet. Of course who would be happy when they'd been smacked on the head just to be put back in stasis.

There was a booming crash and scraping of metal as the two fought for dominance. Ratchet yelled in surprise when she bristled with a hostile energon aura, singing some of his circuits.

"It is time for the Rebirth!" her optics blazed, she knocked the two mechs aside with burst of energy, sending them crashing against the wall. Sparks glided over, plucking Diana from the container before Stalker could even pull out his arm canon.

"_Optimus!" _ he screamed, _"Sparkle has kidnapped Diana!"_ he sprinted at full speed trying to catch up to the retreating femme.

_So much for stealth… you are so stupid Sparkle… _the femme mentally kicked herself. She knew she wasn't good at this sort of thing. Just as the alarms went off she exited the main entrance, transformed into her jet mode, tucking Diana into a makeshift cockpit and blasted off.

O

"_How in the Pit did she recharge her stores so quickly?" _Jazz asked as the fleet moved out, weaving in between traffic until they could no longer stay on the road to get to the landing point.

"_Did anyone else notice that the entire store of energon was gone but me??"_ Bumblebee asked, trying to ignore the painful reminder of rocks skittering against his underside and scratching up his paint.

"_She consumed ALL of our energon?!" _Ironhide squealed, "ALL of the high grade too?!"

"_She tried to do it the nice way first… guess this time round she didn't HAVE the time to recharge her cells the conventional way."_ Mumbled Sideswipe as he and his twin swerved to miss a cluster of cactuses. His neurons were still aching where the drone had pierced his circuitry.

Stalker ignored all of the chit chat on the lines. He stood on his hind legs, from planted firmly on Jazz's dash as he stared at the sky. It was lit up with twelve streaks of light that would be landing any minute now. The Aerial Bots flew overhead two by two, soon he heard sonic booms as they all made contact with the Seekers. The small mech tried calling to his dear friend through the weak link they shared.

It was like he hit a wall of sound, this meant she was awake most likely, she could hear everything he guessed. From their garbled communications to the computer's whine at home. She was so in tune with everything both organic and machine. He hoped she was strong enough to remain the Diana he knew so well and had come to love.

It was a dim hope though, no one would remain after a change such as this to their being.

Jazz suddenly swerved slightly nearly hitting the semi-truck next to him, causing Stalker to slam into his side window. The black and green mech buzzed a colorful string of curses as he rubbed his face.

"_What's wrong Jazz?"_ Optimus asked, it had barely been half a year since the mech had been brought back from the Well. He was positive that the recovery wouldn't come without difficulties.

"_Nothin', sir." _Came the simple reply_, "Just avoidin' a rock there."_ Jazz waited to see if his leader would buy the lame excuse. He was tired of sitting around being babied, he wanted to be out in the field with them in a real battle, and he wanted answers as well.

Another boom caught everyone's attention ahead. The Seekers and Aerial Bots had to scatter to avoid the first wave of landing transformers. Brightly colored flames of light fanned out, lighting the night sky

Stalker's optics scanned the terrain until he found who he was seeking standing atop one of the hills, holding Diana like a human would hold a little bird in their palms.

"There!" he pointed.

"I see her." Jazz broke off from the main fleet despite the protest from Optimus, who quickly followed.

O

_(Few minutes prior)_

With a few whirs and shifting of gears, Sparkle landed on the soft desert hill with a loud thud, sand spraying everywhere. She rattled her wing blades a bit, finding her balance in the sand a moment before casting her optics to the sky. She was so happy to see her friends here, being the only one of your kind, a self sufficient femme amidst tired and battle worn mechs after the Allspark had been destroyed was not one of the most enjoyable experiences, even some of the less polite Autobots gave her looks when they thought she wasn't paying attention. Poor Arcee was all but useless without the Allspark present, she was as alone as Sparkle was without any other femmes to console each other.

"Rain?"

Sparkle looked down at Diana. The now light haired girl had been equipped well by Wheeljack, with armored plating made for maximum mobility all along her spine and against the back of her head and neck, stopping at her temples. This prevented the profuse bleeding she did when she was awake. The symbols etched onto them glowed slightly, showing that the device was working efficiently.

Diana lay with her fingers laced against her stomach, a slight smile creeping on her lips as her sparkling eyes watched the sky, "Rain of salvation?"

"Yes." Sparkle smiled.

The hybrid looked at the femme, "Or destruction." Her smile remained. This caused a look of concern to run across her features.

The first to arrive at the landing site of course were the flyers, soon their sky dance was joined by their faction partners and a symphony of explosions and screaming engines erupted in the sky.

Diana giggled, "They fight like siblings."

"At one point they all were."

"Family feuds are the most brutal, no matter the war." Diana stretched and rolled over to a more comfortable position, "Does such a world as perfection really exist? Will we know what happiness is in a world of perfection?" Bible texts and sermons from many different religions whirled around in her mind en masse, "Heaven is what we make it, to the Decepticons it's domination, to the Autobots it's equality and unity. If we had a universe of perfection then would we know the difference of pain and happiness?"

Sparkle opened her mouth to answer the hybrid's rambles but was interrupted when five of the twelve landed in the small valley in front of her, sending glass and sand everywhere.

The Decepticons were now aiming for the ground units behind the femme.

"Sparkle!" Jazz's calling was drowned out by the boom of several other landings. The landings echoed across the desert, turning chaos into silence.

"Watch out!" Stalker screamed as loud as he could.

Optimus barely had enough time to jump away as the bigger of the eleven smashed into the place where he'd just been standing. Sparkle felt the heat through her armor, her body sensors prickling painfully from the intensity. Diana merely laughed excitedly when the femme curled around her to protect her.

One by one the balled up forms unfolded and blossomed in their bed of flames. It was as if a garden of metallic rainbows had just germinated. The flames were quickly stifled as different different colored energon ranging across the color spectrum swirled around the newly arrived transformers.

Each had a distinct major color, the first of this rainbow had been missing one color. Sparkle looked up with excitement when she saw them all rise and ran toward the nearest one which happened to be a molten gold color. They greeted each other with a gentle touch of their digits and a merging of their energon auras, then pulled away when there was a sharp command in Cybertronian.

The last pod opened with a hiss and several clicks, this one having almost hit Sparkle and Optimus. However she lacked any distinctive color. Her shimmering surface seemed to be more made of glass than anything else; one could see the energon pulsing through her various pipelines that ran through her entire structure, all circling back to her center which glowed a very intense blue, so intense that it was more a white. The femme unfolded her wing blades, turning in a slow circle to take in the entire field. She had one distinct black mark unlike her sisters that had them all over, and it was placed on her midsection where her creation matrix was. If a human were to describe it, it would've reminded them of the sun.

Jazz had to admit… the thickness of so much energon in one place… it was rather intoxicating. His smaller frame couldn't resist getting a little tipsy unlike Optimus who was standing in front of him. Stalker seemed unaffected as well, which Jazz found a little strange. The little mech dropped off of the silver one and cloaked, trying to get close enough to see if Diana was all right.

For a moment the battle halted, curiosity overriding battle protocols.

The femme was easily just as massive as Megatron not counting her wingblades, she approached Sparkle, whom bowed her head in submission. Slowly, Specter reached out and tilted her chin up, forcing Sparkle to look at her.

"_You took a very unnecessary risk. Quick judgment could've cost you your life and the lives of every other mech here. After all these eons you're still as reckless as ever."_ She said in a kind of Cybertronian that was difficult for Optimus to understand.

"_I know… and I'm sorry… I've…. I've collected what I could by myself here. The components are mostly ready."_ Sparkle replied apologetically, gesturing in the direction of Optimus. He looked a little surprised at this, Jazz's engine did a hiccup, "What are you talkin' 'bout??"

"_Gather the components then. We must continue as Primus has ordered."_ With a wave of her hand, Specter signaled the Avatars to split up into groups. She lifted off of the ground, flanked by a spiney black femme with a fierce red gaze and the gentle gold femme. _"Get together Megatron's remains and bring him to me."_

Optimus jumped up, "Megatron?! He's dead! What is going on! I demand to know on behalf of the Autobots!"

Specter turned her piercing gaze upon the leader who felt his joints weaken slightly, but remained strong. The liquid energy femme approached him until their faces were mere inches apart, _"Do you wish to see the continuation?"_

For a long time Optimus didn't answer, then he said slowly, _"If it means the continuation of the war then no."_

"_Well good, then we are of the same frequency, but you will see it from a different perspective."_

O

Stalker scrambled over the loose rocks, he wanted to clamber up Sparkle's leg to get to her hands, but what one might consider a tail was actually Sparks, and she twitched, tail claw opening threateningly, warning him not to come any closer.

Overhead the Avatars were creating a whirlwind of bursting colors as they separated into different units and headed out toward the sea. Already a few of the more stupid Decepticons were following them too close and the results were a smoldering and sparking wreckage. This caused the rest to back down and reevaluate their strategies.

This sight made the small mech's spark boil in its chamber, seeing the weeping girl that was trying so hard to forget that horrific night. He wanted to make sure that none of those slaggers got a hold and disrespected these femmes.

Stalker suddenly slid to a stop when his wireless communications line filled with human voices. The humans' lines were easy to decode and he was the first to detect them.

"…_permission to take down alien hostiles?"_

"_Permission granted, fire at will."_

"_Alright boys it's time to kick some ET's ass!"_

Overhead airplanes shot across the sky, going for both Avatars and Decepticons alike, a few even targeted the Autobots. He witnessed Optimus growl at Ironhide not to take down the humans after he received a few shots to his arm in a strafe maneuver. The sabot rounds burning into the lower layers of his armor causing him to hiss in pain. Stalker didn't understand, weren't the humans supposed to be on the Autobot's side at least? Why were they targeting everyone?

"_Autobots! Retreat and regroup!"_ Optimus growled through their internal communication links. The blue and red mech looked at Specter, the femme looked amused at the chaos erupting before her, _"We must leave this area immediately!"_ he told her in Cybertronian.

She shook her head, _"We must follow the will of Primus, you do as you need to. We will be back for the rest ."_ She opened up her wingblades and with a blast of energon that knocked Optimus nearly off his feet she took to the skies.

"_No! Wait!"_

A few jet pilots that decided to pursue the Avatars entered into their auras, their planes sparked with colorful lights and began to disintegrate piece by piece flaking away into glittering dust.

Stalker had to shut off his hacking frequency for a moment to clear his mind from the screaming of dying soldiers. His memories were flickering back and forth to the day he'd crashed onto this planet. Then of times before he'd even met Shadow… most of it was of times before the - Stalker whacked his head against the nearest boulder and immediately his head cleared and his memories were stored away in their proper units. He really needed to get his head fixed.

"Diana!" he called.

At last, the girl peaked out from between Sparkle's fingers, she smiled and waved cheerily.

"Diana! Come back!"

Sparkle closed her fingers around the girl, "No, Stalker, she is needed, I told you I won't harm her."

"Why do you need her so badly?!" He snarled.

"_Sparkle! When did you find him??"_ the black femme appeared next to her.

"_Saborstrife! He came to the base not long before I did, his name is Stalker."_

Stalker lowered himself, spines bristling menacingly when Saborstrife tried to pick him up. He hissed, running off and hopped onto Bumblebee's foot. Oh how he hated being so small sometimes.

"_Hey now… is that any way to treat your long lost mistress?"_ Saborstrife asked, folding her arms. Stalker's optics widened a bit.

"_Sabor! Get your silly little key later! We have to take care of these natives!" _Bell, the teal and purple one, chirped in annoyance when a missile almost smashed into her.

Bumblebee watched as another wave came, "Optimus sir! We must move!"

"Roll out!" Optimus growled, transforming and leading the retreat away from the battle field, issuing orders as he went.

Jazz watched them go, he tried to transform but it seemed that his body was content to just stand there and enjoy the femme's aura. Only when they moved away did he finally snap out of his daze, why the frag had no one else been affected? He growled and transformed, engine revving in frustration.

Sparkle looked down in her hands and squeaked in surprise when she found Diana was gone.

"No no no no!" she glanced around frantically, scanning for the girl's peculiar signature.

"_What?"_ Saborstrife asked, not having found the minute to absorb the internet yet so didn't understand English.

"_That native I was holding! She's gone!"_

"_That strange thing? Why are you so worried about her? You probably dropped her."_

"_I wouldn't just drop the girl who's carrying the Allspark fragment!" _Sparkle growled.

O

"Hehehe…"

Frustration was funny to watch, especially when you were the one causing it.

**OOO**

**Not quite what you were expecting? Me either. –dodges brick throwers- Stay and ye shall receive answers! W00t! **

**Thank you very much for the reviews! They really help me keep going!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yes I'm still alive.**

**It just suddenly got really hard to write… sorry it's only a shortie after so long. I've been working a lot and haven't really had the drive to write.**

**I have an idea though that will help inspire me!**

**Hey all you fellow artists out there! I would like to hold an art contest, in which you draw your favorite scene from my fic or whatever you like from it… or even a poster that would be cool. One where the title goes.**

**I don't really have a deadline (cause I know most of us don't like deadlines)… but before New Years please?**

**Reward you ask? Besides my eternal gratitude?**

**I'll write a two shot for First Place (length of the chapters depends), and for Second Place I'll do a one shot. I'll post all of the entries in my deviantart account files(with appropriate credits and links of course) and of course link them through my profile here on fanfiction. And lather them with attention and love cause you all are AWESOME! (thumbs up)**

**Please let me know if you're interested! Send me a PM for more details!**

**Thank you so much for being so patient and sticking by me! On with the show!**

**Chapter 25:**

Ring…

Ring…

Click!

"Hello?"

"…"

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Taylor."

The Islander pulled her hands out of the dish soap so that she could hold the phone better. The caller ID was some strange long number, which made her grimace, "Sino to? Kung telemarketer hindi ako interesado." She would get on the city's case about being on the National No Call list. Wasn't it supposed to count for foreign countries as well?

"Hindi ho ako salesman… kai bigan ako ni Diana."

Mrs. Taylor simply stared at the floor for a long moment. Then she ushered her son out of the kitchen to his room, however he stalled at the stairs. He understood Tagalog as well as English, and from the tension in his mother's voice he wanted to know if it was news about his sister. His father came in from watching the news. The TV had been on nonstop since the incident down in California had happened with the aliens.

"Sino ka? Nasaan ang anak ko?" she demanded.

"Masama ang pakiramdam nang anak ko." Not well was the understatement of the human century.

"Gusto ko siyang makausap!"

"Honey, who's that?" Mr. Taylor asked but was silenced by a finger.

"Kung pupwede lang... pero hindi sa ngayon… wala siyang malay." There was the sound of something metallic shifting on the other side of the line, _there's no hope of her speaking sense any time soon_, he thought "Please, Mrs Taylor, gusto kolang na malaman mo kung anong nang yayari."

"Gusto naming bumalik si Diana!"she snarled. It had been more than six months since she'd spoken to her eldest, she wanted to hear her voice now! She wanted her little girl back.

"Naiintindihan ko…" _Trust me… I do understand…_, "Please, sit down, this is going to be a long call." He added out loud.

O

It had been the most painful thing for Stalker to do, explain a situation where he couldn't give all of the details that really filled the heart's longing for answers. He sat back and watched Diana float at Ratchet's shoulder, watching what the medic was doing with the curiosity of a five year old. As with her family, many questions were running through Stalker's CPU as well. The black femme's comments about him… for some reason they made his fuel lines boil with anger but he couldn't pin down why. Too many of his memories were fragmented or corrupted. Perhaps he'd just have to ask them directly. Yes that's it, he'd get in contact with them.

_It's time don't you think?_

_Shut up Shadow…_

_Look who's talkin'._

"From the way you're still registering sound I take it they didn't chew your audios out." Ratchet said. Diana suddenly disappeared in a pop of sound and light.

She did that a lot now, constantly going here or there, where ever that was no one knew. The Avatars weren't subtle in their presence, being of an older generation, they didn't think the humans on an equal level but didn't seek them out to destroy like toys either. Regardless their presence had added gas to the flames between the factions. Starscream had already tried to approach them and had nearly been incinerated. The group constantly split up into different teams, gathering things, disappearing off of the radar and then reappearing in a different location with different companions.

Another loud 'pop!' from the displacement of air and Diana was present again, this time leaning on Stalker's shoulder, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Why's she acting like this?" Stalker asked, taking her hands in his, she practically purred at the attention.

"She's autistic." Ratchet explained.

"… I thought that was-."

"Only in the human's young children right? Well, autistic is the best way I can explain it for now. You say that whenever you try to touch her through your bond that you just hit a solid wall of chaotic images and sounds correct?"

A nod.

"Her mind is on overdrive, it… at least partially from what I can tell, shut down its higher functions. With her new and enhanced senses it's over loading her perception." Ratchet's joints creaked as he knelt down to their level. Diana was now playing with Zan who'd jumped onto her shoulder.

"Chaos rules as chaos does… chaos brings in blood by floods." Diana smiled. She'd come to do that now, if she wasn't babbling incoherently she was rhyming. Stalker guessed it was her one bit of control she could hang on to.

"What about physically?" Stalker asked, chuckling when Zan swung back and forth via his tail claw from Diana's arm.

"The device Wheeljack and I have made has only stifled the bleeding of her… spark blood as we'll call it. Replace it back into her body."

"But she lost a lot of it…"

Ratchet nodded, "I'm getting to that." He cleared his vocal processors, "Because she lost so much essence, her life span indeed has been shortened."

Stalker's audios drooped.

"But!"

Zan looked up, as well as Stalker.

"Since she's been fused with our race so to speak, her life could've also been extended."

"…"

"In theory anyway, I've come across many things in the wars but never something like this." He leaned back when Diana appeared, sitting on his left knee joint. She was trying to get her hair to stay down… but for some reason it just kept drifting with her every movement, much like it would under water.

"Wow… you are one complication after another." Stalker snorted at the girl. She looked back at him and stuck her tongue out. Then she tilted her head as if she heard something off in the distance, and disappeared completely from the room again.

Stalker let out a frustrated sigh, "I wish she would stop doing that…"

"yeah…" Zan sighed. Then he perked up when he noticed a light fixture flickering and scaled the walls to fix it.

"Is there anything you can do to help clear her mind?" Stalker asked.

"It'll take time to figure that out Stalker, in the end it'll probably be you that will be a major help to her. Then again she might never be the same Diana we knew ever again." This was the part of Ratchet's job that he hated the most, telling someone that there was a chance of no hope.

"_Please come in and have some tea… please come in and play with me! Hahahaa!"_ the voice echoed in his mind. This was a constant occurrence as well.

Stalker dropped to his quadruped mode, the one Diana liked because she said it reminded her of a fox (but with no tail to speak of) and took off, trying to pin point his partner's erratic signal.

O

Jazz exited the main control room. Optimus had been 'talking' with the President directly about having been attacked and the human leader was denying any release of any of their F-22s to the landing site. Either way, their cover was blown as far as ET was concerned. The silver mech rubbed his aching joints and bounced on the edges of his stabilizing servos. Ever since he'd been engulfed in all those Avatars auras he'd been feeling glitchy. Anomalies were coming up in his systems that he couldn't track and made him feel like something was squirming through his energy lines.

"Jazz?"

The small mech looked up to see Prowl, his dear friend since childhood.

"I'm alright… must be just side effects from being brought back from the dead." He chuckled.

Prowl wasn't convinced, "You should check into the medical bay if you're having any problems."

"I know bud, I ain't incoherent. It's just right now they're dealing with a problem greater than me." He patted his friend on the shoulder guard, "I'll be fine." He tried to assure the other. His smile vanished when Prowl stiffened up, "I can make it an order Jazz, now get going." He warned.

Jazz rolled his optics but nodded. If anything to at least keep Prowl off his back for a little while longer. He turned to continue his walk down the hall but had to halt abruptly when a silvery streak zipped on pass at his face level, followed by a black and green one on the ground.

Diana suddenly appeared next to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek plate, "Lovin' life?" before he could answer she was gone.

It was one thing to chase this girl while she was floating around, it made it quite another when she used her teleportation that she'd become so fond of recently.

"Diana!" Stalker yelled.

She appeared obediently, startled by his loud voice.

"Sit!" he pointed at the floor, "Stay… good girl." Stalker straightened up, trying not to laugh at the pouty face she was giving him. Slowly he placed both hands on either side of her face, cautiously reaching out with his mind toward her. Again he hit that wall of chaos, however this time he didn't pull back. He tried to make sense of the information. Most of it was just the blather of the internet, wireless signals and the chit chat of Cybertronians. It seemed that Diana couldn't really organize it, or at least she hadn't learned to yet… or couldn't. Primus there were so many things that were uncertain right now.

Stalker continued to try and sift through the mass of information… eventually he came to realize that most of the noise wasn't even from wireless talking… he couldn't understand it… but he believed it was the thoughts of her fellow humans. She was listening to their thoughts. Stalker attempted to focus all his CPU power on them, but every time he heard their words or feel what they were feeling it went through one audio receptor per say and out the other. He just wasn't synchronized with organic thought patterns.

"Want to know a secret oh shadow that creeps?"

Stalker pulled out of Diana's mind, the sound of silence almost defining, "What?" he asked.

She held up both of her index fingers, "Megatron and Optimus, two sides of the same coin. Yet never will they join."

Stalker frowned at this comment.

Diana curled her fingers around each other, "As long as they exist together the war goes on, both Autobots and Decepticons." The small mech wanted to say 'your point?' but he'd learned very quickly that he had to have a tremendous amount of patience with this new Diana.

She moved her hands in mystical shapes, like she was trying to write with the air, "The Allspark has given with no bias and no trials, indiscriminant." She looked directly into his yellow optics, "That it depicts sides with no bias says something does it not? It makes passions hot."

"So… you're just saying the obvious, if the Allspark returns the wars will be started up again." Stalker clarified.

Diana nodded excitedly and leaned forward whispering, "What if the power of creation had a mind of its own? Would there be sides to sit at a throne?"

"The Allspark… with a bias?" Stalker found that hard to fathom. The Allspark was alive, it spoke to those who touched it… how could it be any different if it were created again? If it favored the Decepticons then there would be nothing but destruction, if it favored the Autobots it would only be an amount of time before a seedling of thirst was planted in some Bots' CPU and something went wrong. Power, no matter who the wielder was, had that fine, very very fine line of corruption. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why the Autobots looked up to Optimus. He'd not crossed that line of destruction.

"Just like I want to kill you I want you to live."

Stalker looked up in surprise, seeing a rim of red forming around her pupils.

"Starscream and Sparkle's line of thought… they coincide with battles not fought. Then there's me that trembles inside… just wanting to hide." She hung her head, glowing tears forming at the corners of her eyes, "Courage gone as all she thinks is wrong…"

Stalker watched her cry for a moment before moving closer and hugging her close to his thin frame. So his Diana was somewhere inside, confused and scared as the tribulations of his own kind swirled around her heart, trapping her in her own body.

"We'll have each other… right? Even if my cities are razed?"

Stalker looked down at her, for once her hair wasn't flying everywhere and her eyes weren't sparkling with strange colors.

"Yes, we'll still have each other." Stalker promised, placing his hands on both her shoulders.

Slowly, she closed her eyes, a smile, a real smile touching her lips, "Mahal kita…"

Mahal kita…

Such a beautiful phrase. Be it in Cybertronian or in an Earthen dialogue.

_I love you_.

Those words made his spark grow warm.

Suddenly Diana stiffened and looked up, like a startled animal she was on edge.

"Dia?" Stalker inquired as she stood up.

"The mixing of ingredients is about to begin. I wonder if this is the end." She looked down at him, "Will those with four faces win or will they fall again?" she went away on foot this time.

"Four faces?" Stalker followed her, surprised at her speed, "Diana! Can you try and make a little more sense??"

"As the desperate wait for a break would you be there to take?" Diana asked, eyes flaring with light, "So many voices so many choices… I will not stand by will you help me or say goodbye?" she growled, each stride increasing in speed, "Lose your heart or stay by my hearth." There was the sound of energy bolts striking the concrete and a loud moan of agony lacing the air. Stalker saw streaks of teal light wink around the corner.

Another squeal of pain and a figure stumbled into view, slamming against the far wall as another wave of teal energon washed over him. Stalker skidded to a stop when he realized what was happening.

"_Stay still!"_ clicked an unknown femme voice.

Jazz screamed, his whole frame frozen in place as all of his security systems were overridden, allowing for the locks over his spark box to be opened. Stalker was about to alert everyone but then noticed Diana was grinning from ear to ear practically, as if dazzled by the spectacle.

"What are you smiling for?!"

"She didn't want to play with me… isn't that a little mean?"

Stalker now realized what that echoed thought had been earlier… Diana had let this Avatar inside the base! The attachment didn't have time to wait for the others. He saw the femme lift up her hand slowly, drawing the rapidly pulsing light from Jazz's chest plate. The small mech ran up and released a flurry of disk shreakens just in time to be knocked aside by a clawed tail. It seemed that this femme had a draconic attachment similar to Sparks. There was a scream of surprise as the line of light was broken, shattering into a million light particles. The femme hopped up and down holding her knee joint while Jazz slumped to the ground, his frame smoking slightly, his chest plates sliding closed automatically.

"_You idiot! I was helping him!" _the femme squealed, plucking the blades from her leg. She didn't look up in time to dodge the flurry of energy bullets. Stalker was nearly trampled on when Jazz sprinted forward, grabbing the femme's 'pigtails' and yanking her head back, holding the tip of his whining arm canon to her chin. Diana was nowhere to be seen.

"Jazz! What are you doing?!" Stalker yelled.

The mech turned his attention to the small mech, optics simmering in angry red.

**OOO**

**(holds up shield)**

**Yes… the all ebil cliffy… I'm positive the next chapter will be uberly longer! Bare with me!**

**Thank you reviewers! **


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